A Fragmented Existence
by aki.ari
Summary: A devastating fire and a lone survivor who is thought to be dead. This girl’s place in the world is lost until she meets the host club. REVISED PROLOGUE
1. Prologue

-Prologue-

Hello there I'm Kairi Kagesaki, the daughter of the famous singer songwriter Mitsuki Rikyou and her husband, Izumi Kagesaki the guitarist and vocalist for the promising band Epiphany.

Both my parents were very talented people and loved each other more than life itself my mother's father, Keiichi, hated Izumi and disapproved of their marriage but Mitsuki ran away to be with him and they got married and had me.

We lived a great life and I grew up learning and loving music with all my soul. The band was doing great and hitting the top of the charts and we couldn't have been happier. They were doing so well that an American recording company bought them over and wanted to promote them in America, which would mean that Izumi and the band would be leaving Mitsuki and I.

Mitsuki though strong willed had a weak disposure and was lucky to have survived after giving birth to me, her doctor didn't think it wise for her to travel especially for such a long distance to a place she didn't know; he felt it would have been too much stress on her body. Izumi however apologized to the band and gracefully removed himself from it in order to live with Mitsuki and I.

Life was good and though we weren't rich we were well off and Mitsuki and Izumi would play together at various places. My father and mother were so captivating when they were living their music and I was just overjoyed to be apart of it all.

This bliss however wasn't a lasting kind; it came to an abrupt stop when a fire spread through our home and trapped us inside. I was a month short of reaching my tenth birthday when it happened. I had been asleep in the studio after practicing the guitar and I could faintly hear my mother calling for me in such desperation, Izumi there alongside her but they felt so far away and as the fire spread I could find no way to reach them and clutched the black body of my father's guitar close to me.

Their voices became clearer and closer and a sense of hope sparked in me then I heard a thud amongst the crackling fire which was followed by my mother's coughing and my father's cries. I peered through the burning beams and saw my mother buckled over on all fours coughing with my father at her side holding her close while still calling out for me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I yelled for them but my voice was chocked by the smoke that clouded the room.

They were so close so very close but they couldn't reach me and I felt the resolve that we would all die there.

What a world it is, when a nine year old knows she's going to die and can't do anything about it.

I remember hearing the cracking of the splintering ceiling rafters as my horror stricken eyes followed a flaming beam as it fell towards my parents. Before I could even scream they were gone. In a burning hellish death they had died before my eyes.

Not even a moment later did the hollow sound of sirens reach my ears as water began pouring through the high set windows and dousing the fire till not a spark remained, dim glowing embers died away and I ran to my parents who were just charred shells of who they once were and did what any normal child would do...I cried.

When the firefighters came I hid not wanting to deal with the people who had saved me and not my parents, had they been there moments before their lives would have been spared. A day later the incident made the front page. "Devastating Fire Kills Promising Musical Family of Three" yes they thought I had died too. They had not found me so they assumed I had just been burnt to ashes.

Shortly after there was a big memorial funeral for us and the band came back to pay their respects and I saw so many people there that it pained me to know that my parents who were so loved by all these people were dead, and I was the cause of it. I knew there was no denying it had I not been there they wouldn't have been searching for me and would have made it out of the house in plenty of time to spare.

I was just an orphan who everyone assumed to be dead I stayed in my house, once it dried out it wasn't so bad only certain areas were unlivable as they had been burnt to skeletal remains. On many occasions after the fire contractors came to demolish the house and begin building something new on the land but I was a little more than stubborn and made accidents happen here and there that eventually convinced the workers and the press that the house was haunted with the spirits of Mitsuki and Izumi and their daughter Kairi.

Sure they were right I was haunting the house but I wasn't dead, though I kind of wish I was, I knew I didn't deserve to live and because I killed my parents I would be going to hell. Of that I had no doubt.

These claims of the house being haunted however attracted the attention of Keiichi Rikyou, my grandfather. I had never met the man before but recognized two things about him. One: I had seen him at the funeral and he visited my mother's grave regularly and Two: he had her eyes, the soft amber color that could warm the soul from one glance. He had come to the so called haunted house and found the soft melody of my father's guitar as I played one of my mother's songs. Upon following it he found me and I suppose though he'd never met me before he knew who I was and he embraced me with such longing as though I'd melt away as many apparitions did had he let go.

He reluctantly released me after what seemed like a short forever and looked at me with his soft amber eyes a smile spreading across his features.

I remember him saying "let's go home Kairi" and I felt something twist in me upon hearing my name from this man's mouth.

"I am home" I had told him and an eerie smile crossed his face but still those warm orbs of amber kept me still and calm.

"Kairi sweetie, you can't stay here; there's nothing left here." I could tell something was off every time he said my name but was swept up and taken to what I presumed to be his home. He gave me my mother's room and I saw pictures of her as a child and everything about her could be seen in me save for my hazy grey-white eyes that belonged in full to my father. My silky black hair with the whitish stained bangs and pale porcelain like skin, the soft contours of my body and my long slender fingers were all my mother's. After a week of living with him I realized why him saying my name as Kairi felt so off.

He saw me not as my mother's young daughter but as the childlike version of my mother. He wanted to start over and take care of her this time so that she wouldn't end up dead. Once I realized this I got amber colored contacts and masked my father's eyes, dressed in my mother's clothing and when he saw me and the name Kairi had fallen from his lips I only smiled and replied with "Silly daddy don't you even remember your own daughter's name?" after that he broke down in tears hugging me and saying Mitsuki over and over.

I knew it was wrong and he should try to move on and my going along with his delusions wasn't helping but I knew I had no place in this world and I had no right to have taken his precious daughter from him. He was happy after that and kept a close eye on me never letting me out after dark and making sure I got regular check ups at the hospital. Though I wasn't my mother I had inherited her weak disposition however because of my father's genes I wasn't as bad of as she was.

When I had reached my fourteenth year of life Keiichi became ill and I began to dutifully take care of him as a daughter should. His hospital bills were taking a toll on our life so I began eating only vitamin supplements and water and I began playing music at clubs and bars, anywhere that would take me and I used the money to take care of my grandfather while still maintaining perfection in school so that he wouldn't worry. I knew that there was no way I'd be able to afford an education with taking care of him so my only options were either to get a scholarship or not go to school.

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A/N: Ok this is the revised version of my prologue. I hope this makes it easier to read. Thank you to **thx4allthefish **for the advice.


	2. Chapter 1

-Chapter 1-

"Your grades are amazing, way past standard level and even higher than high levels. If anything I'd say you're one shot off of perfection. The world can always use intelligent people however many times they lack the money and opportunities to get the education they need and their talents become wasted. So I see no reason why I shouldn't grant you this scholarship. We have one other scholarship student here and they've been doing well, you'll probably fit right in and if you ever need anything son, don't hesitate to come talk to me. You should think of me as your Uncle Suou" The blond haired man said with a warm fatherly smile on his face.

"Um thank you sir, you don't know how much this means to me" Kai said bowing his respects before excusing himself from the office. 'Well he's right about the lacking of money and opportunities this was my last shot for a chance at an education here all the public schools were either horrible in educational standards or thought I somehow cheated on entrance exams. The Private schools were all too expensive and didn't offer scholarships' Kai thought shaking his head and brushing his whitish stained black bangs to the side. 'School Starts tomorrow, Keiichi's going to be delighted that his daughter is going to be going to such a prestigious school as Ouran and on a scholarship no less' Kai thought as he walked out of the school compound. By the time Kai was almost home he ducked into a diner and slipped into the female washroom and instantly into one of the stalls. Slipping out of the slacks and shirt and pulling on a simple white and pale blue sundress that had belonged to Mitsuki and then shaking out the long silky black hair from under the cap Kai was once again Mitsuki to please her grandfather. Stuffing the clothing back in her bag she left the diner and headed home.

'I guess it'd have been easier had I just enrolled with a different name instead of keeping my name and changing my gender. Sure my name isn't actually Kai but it's the short form of Kairi which my dad would call me sometimes. But in all seriousness I couldn't possibly enroll as Mitsuki Rikyou or Kairi Kagesaki, I mean a dead person couldn't possibly go to school. So from now on at school I'll just be Kai Kagesaki the male 2nd year. Sure I was coming into the school late in the year when they don't usually get any transfer students but that public school was so low in standards I couldn't possibly stay there another year' she thought as she got home.

"Daddy I'm home and guess what, I'm going to be going to Ouran for school on a Scholarship" Kairi said smiling as she hugged Keiichi who smiled at her with such pride.

"Mitsuki, my daughter is going to the prestigious Ouran and on a scholarship. I'm so proud of you Mitsuki. We should celebrate how 'bout we go out for dinner tonight?" Keiichi asked coughing every once in a while.

"No daddy we can celebrate in, the doctor said you shouldn't go out too much. I'm going to go get started on dinner ok" Kairi said smiling as she headed to the kitchen.

"He finally went to sleep, I thought he'd never stop congratulating me" Kairi muttered as she flopped onto her futon. 'School is going to be interesting, that place is a maze, I hope I don't get lost in between classes' she thought as she drifted to sleep.

The sound of an alarm clock beeped it's wake up to Kairi as she rolled off her futon and folded it up, putting it away for the day. It was still dark outside and the clock read five o'clock am an ungodly hour for a person to be waking up. Yawning she stretched as she headed to the bathroom. Not a moment later did the beeping stop and the shower began running. After taking a quick wake up shower Kairi went into the kitchen and began fixing her grandfather's breakfast and set it out nicely for him. She then made food for him and wrapped it in plastic wrap sliding it into the fridge for his lunch. Neatly scrawling on a sticky note she wrote 'Daddy, lunch is in the fridge; don't forget to take your meds with it. They're on the counter next to the tea pot.' Then she stuck the note to the fridge handle and went back to her room to get dressed for school. She knew her grandfather wouldn't be waking up anytime soon so she pulled on the black pair of slacks and white shirt she had worn the day before but pulled on a black vest over the shirt to look somewhat presentable. Her clothing was loose enough to hide the fact that she was a girl but not so much so that it looked shabby. She brushed out her long hair and folded it up placing pins in it to keep the messy strands in place then she pulled on a simple black cadet hat that looked somewhat out of place yet somewhat perfect for her image to hide her long hair. Her white stained black bangs hung neatly framing her face, she didn't bother to remove her contacts, her real eye color always drew some awkward stares and she wasn't in the mood for that. Glancing at her hands she debated whether or not she should cut her nails, it would make her guitar playing a great deal more difficult, finally deciding against it she cleaned them and smoothed out the edges before pulling on her socks and a pair of black shoes. "Ouran here I come," he muttered as he was now Kai Kagesaki. Throwing the required books in his messenger bag he slung it over his shoulder and headed out the door as quietly as possible.

"Damn big school, where is this stupid class supposed to be anyway?" Kai muttered turning what seemed to be the eighteenth corner and finding himself crashing into someone. They both fell over with a thud and began apologizing.

"I'm very sorry miss I'm at fault I should have been paying more attention to where I was going," Kai said standing and offering a hand to the girl he had knocked over. She gracefully accepted the offered hand and bowed.

"Thank you, but I'm also at fault I was rushing so much so that it didn't occur to me that someone would be rounding the corner at the same time I was" She said softly then looked up at Kai and her eyes scanned his amber ones and a blush painted her cheeks.

"By the way I just transferred here and I'm kind of lost do you think you could help me out?" Kai asked smiling sweetly at her causing her blush to intensify.

"Of course...um" she paused realizing that she had yet to exchange names with the angelic boy in front of her.

"I'm so sorry, forgive my manners. I'm Kai Kagesaki, it's a pleasure to meet you" he said bowing his respects.

"I'm Momoka Kurakano of class 1-A" she replied her gaze downcast.

"Momoka-chan huh? What an adorable name can I call you Momo-chan it's even cuter don't you think?" Kai said smiling as he unintentially caused the girl to blush more and was rendered unable to speak so she just nodded.

"I'm in class 2-A but I can't for the life of me find the class" Kai said looking down the hallway then back around the corner in puzzlement and slight frustration which Momoka thought was really cute.

"Come on I can take you there, Sempai" Momoka said with a determined look on her face.

"Momo-chan don't call me Sempai it makes me sound old, just call me Kai" Kai said a light laugh playing on his features.

"Kai-kun" Momoka said testing the name out and smiling. 'Kun huh, well yea but the suffix isn't necessary' Kairi thought smiling. Kai followed after Momoka as she pointed out places of importance and interest on the walk to 2-A's classroom.

"Thanks for the tour Momo-chan if you ever need anything look me up and I'll do my best to help" Kai said sweetly before slipping into the room and waited at the front of the room as he didn't know where he would be assigned to sit. After a while of waiting two young men walked in one with blond hair and violet eyes who had a big smile on his face and the other who seemed to be about an inch shorter than the previous with black hair and glasses over his steely grey eyes.

"Hello, beautiful morning isn't it? I'm Tamaki Suou and it's nice to meet you" the blond said taking my hand in his a large smile on his face that seemed so innocent and child like yet annoying as hell. Pulling his hand away Kai bowed to the two in respect.

"Pleasure to meet you both, I'm Kai Kagesaki and I'm going to be in your class starting from today" Kai said in a distant yet slightly sophisticated tone of voice.

"Welcome to Ouran Kagesaki-kun I'm Kyoya Ootori" the black haired boy said in a reserved yet pleasant tone. 'Faker' was the first thing that crossed Kai's mind as he heard Kyoya greet him but nodded his thanks none the less 'I'm in no position to judge anyone, what with me cross-dressing and posing as a guy' he thought dully. Shortly after the room filled up with students and the teacher went through the introductions with Kai, seating him next to Tamaki who seemed delighted. Class droned on until lunch and Kai had nothing better to do as the homework was surprisingly easy and had completed it in moments upon being assigned it.

"Kai-Kun would you like to have lunch with us?" Tamaki asked smiling.

"No thanks" Kai said absently as he folded his arms and rested his head down in all attempts to conserve energy as he'd forgotten to bring his vitamin supplements to school, they were probably on the dresser next to his guitar.

"Oh come on please" Tamaki begged eyes big and shinny.

"No thank you Suou-kun" Kai said simply his face and voice were pleasant yet behind his words there was nothing but annoyance which caused Tamaki to shudder at the icy feeling he got.

"Ok maybe tomorrow then" he said and rushed off, Kyoya walking casually after him. 'Weird boy but his overly energetic disposure reminds me off...his father...the director...Mr.Yuzuru Suou' realization dawned on Kai as he sat up straight and hit himself for not realizing sooner.

"Excuse me but is Tamaki Suou here?" someone asked from the doorway and Kai realized after a moment of hesitation that he was the only one who hadn't left the room.

"Sorry, but as you can see he's not here, he did however say he was going for lunch so you might want to check the cafeteria" Kai said dully yet still with his pleasant disposition to which the young boy at the door nodded and walked off only to be swept in the other direction by a blur of blue and rusty orange. Kai blinked before shaking his head and deciding it was the lack of nutrition getting to his brain.

After lunch classes resumed and after class Kai stood up grabbed his bag and was about to leave when Tamaki grabbed his hand.

"Kai-kun what are you doing now?" Tamaki asked.

"Going home" Kai said dully as though it was the most obvious thing in the world before knocking Tamaki's hand away who disappeared into a corner with what could only be described as a cloud of gloom hovering over him to which Kai shook his head and bid Kyoya a good day before heading out of the room.

"Interesting boy, there isn't anything about him in the school records except his name and a phone number that's been out of use for about seven years" Kyoya said sparking Tamaki's interest as the blond haired boy sprung up to stand in front of Kyoya with his eyes full of awe. After a few moments Tamaki smiled and headed off to the third music room with Kyoya.

'What odd people' Kai thought as he headed out of the school property to his home. Once again he stopped in a small establishment in order to change and resume the image and persona of her mother.

"Daddy I'm home, school was great you wouldn't believe how big it is and my teachers are very pleasant people who seem to have a great deal of knowledge in their specified fields, more so than those at the public schools" Kairi said as her grandfather came out to greet her.

"Thanks great Mitsuki. I'm so glad for you, come you can tell me all about it over dinner" he said as he went into the dining room where he had prepared a simple dinner which caused a genuine smile to appear on Kairi's face.

"Thanks so much daddy, but you didn't have to bother yourself" she said smiling as she took a seat at the table across from Keiichi who just smiled at her with pride and joy.

Later after putting her grandfather to sleep Kairi snuck out of the house with her guitar bag slung over her shoulder as she snuck out of the house in her performance outfit, which consisted of black jeans that were slightly baggy and had chains hanging from them and a black sleeveless zip up hoody with grey patches on it. She walked into the club and waved to the owner as she headed to the stage. Tying up her hair in a messy bun she sat on a lonely stool in the center of the stage where she began to play her music, like her parents when she was playing her music she lived it as well which was what set her apart from any other guitarist and singer. She played covers of her parents' songs and several of her own until it was two o'clock in the morning and the club closed until the next evening. Kairi went to the owner who smiled at her for once again calling out to people on the streets with her music and drawing them into the club, because of her his business was booming and he was thoroughly pleased with her. Giving her two hundred for the night she gratefully accepted the money and headed home for her two hours of much needed sleep.

The next morning went like any other for Kairi, get up take shower, make breakfast and lunch, get ready for school, and begin the long walk to said destination as Kai. 'So very tired, can't wait to get home' Kai thought as he entered his classroom and slid into his assigned seat resting his head on his desk and closing his eyes.

"Good Morning Kai-Kun!" Tamaki's voice rang throughout the room as he entered as Kyoya took his seat. Unlike Tamaki, Kyoya realized that for whatever reason Kai was tired and trying to get some rest before class started and hadn't bothered him when he came in. 'Please kami-sama why him?' Kai thought in dismay as Tamaki bounded over to a stop in front of him.

"Good Morning Suou-Kun" Kai muttered sitting up to look at the boy in front of him.

"How are you today? Are you going to eat lunch with us today? It would be great if you'd join us and it would beat sitting alone in the classroom right?" Tamaki asked as he edged closer to him. Kyoya seemed to be evaluating the situation in his head and taking notes on the outcome which slightly amused Kai.

"I'm fine thank you, and you? No I won't be joining you for lunch however thank you for the offer and no it wouldn't beat sitting in the classroom alone I rather enjoy the silence" Kai said leaving off on light note as a smile crossed his face which Tamaki once again felt the shudder of dismissal go down his spine as he nodded and took his seat next to the teen who resumed his original position until class started.

'Well what a truly interesting boy he is' Kyoya thought taking note of how quickly he shut Tamaki up.

Class went by slowly and Kai seemed to go to sleep after the first half of class. The teacher walked over and was about to scold the boy when she noticed in a neat pile at the top of his desk was the entirety of the homework she had assigned just minutes before and she picked it up and went back to her desk with a look of utter determination as though she were going to find an entourage of mistakes but after flipping through the pages she sighed after having found not a single miscalculation which amused Kyoya who had looked up from his work to observe the scene. At the lunch bell Tamaki endowed with a new vigor was about to jump Kai, Kyoya sat back once again to observe the outcome.

"Kai-Kun are you sure you don't want to eat lunch with us!" Tamaki yelled joyously in Kai's ear. The teen simply sat up for a moment and bowed.

"I'm sorry but I have to decline due to extreme fatigue. Now if you'd excuse me" Kai said his voice low and drowsy as he stood up and headed to the door, presumably in search of a place where Tamaki wouldn't be able to find him. Just as he was about to step outside the door however, Momoka walked up to him smiling.

"Kai-kun how was your first day of school yesterday?" she asked kindly. Kai looked at her with a gentle gaze and a smile graced his lips.

"It was great thanks Momo-chan, I even remembered how to get to my class today thanks to your expert instructions" he said his voice calm and unrushed with a light note to it. At that moment Tamaki saw his newest host and Kyoya saw more financial income to the host club.

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" Momoka asked sweetly.

"I'm sorry Momo-chan I'm not that hungry but if you'd like the company I'd gladly join you" Kai said shocking Tamaki and Kyoya, with what could only be described as a sincere sacrifice. This act also made Kyoya wonder why Kai turned Tamaki down, it was possible that he acted like that only with women but somehow that didn't seem to fit the image that was coming together from Kyoya's recent observations of the boy.

"I made lunch today so we can go out to the courtyard it's beautiful out there and not as noisy as the cafeteria" Momoka said smiling. Kai nodded and followed her to their destination.

"Kyoya I want Kai Kagesaki as our newest member of the host club!" Tamaki announced Kyoya nodded and left Tamaki to make some preparations for later when they'd invite him to join the club. Tamaki after declaring that left to find Haruhi and save her from the twins.

"You're right it is beautiful out here, these flowers are gorgeous and are such well taken care off. But it's sad too..." Kai trailed off as he delicately brushed the petals with his fingers as though they were fragile that had he looked at them too hard they would wilt.

"How is it sad?" Momoka asked sitting down on one of the stone benches while looking at Kai's somber state.

"To have a garden as beautiful as this, one would have to remove the weaklings and imperfections. Especially for roses, to make sure that the ones that bloom have enough room to do so one would have to trim the buds, which is sad. Just because they are later bloomers they loose their chance to shine, and their beauty never graces the world. True they're beautiful but their beauty is made on the sacrifice of many others that could have been equally as beautiful in their own time" Kai said his voice distant and sorrowful. He heard a slight sniffling and turned to see Momoka and some other girls looking at him with teary eyes.

"Kai-kun you're so sensitive and see things that others would never even think about" Momoka said as a few tears slid down her cheeks at hearing of the derivation of the beautiful flowers she sees everyday.

"Momo-chan don't cry I'm sorry I didn't mean to make you sad" Kai said walking over to her and gently brushed the tears away with the feather light touch he had used when touching the flowers.

"In all reality though had all the flowers bloomed there wouldn't be enough space and the stronger ones would strangle the weaker ones unintentionally as they fought for survival and they'd wither away after naught but a brief moment in their glory. But then again however brief they deserve the chance to face the sky with their beauty" Kai said originally trying to change the somber mood he had unintentionally created but ended up falling into nostalgic thoughts of his parents and how their beauty was wiped from the world by Kairi's life. In her mind she was the bud and her Parents were the beautiful roses and because no one had clipped her, they had both perished along with the joy that they had brought to the world.

"Kai-kun's so thoughtful" a bunch of the girls said as they wiped away the tears that had welled up in their eyes looking at him with adoration. Kai heard the outburst and was once again brought back to reality.

"I'm sorry I made you all sad, forgive me" Kai said bowing to them in regret which made the squeals intensify and also drew the attention of Haruhi and the twins as the twins were dragging Haruhi away from Tamaki. The three exchanged confused looks before the twins resumed their flee from Tamaki who had caught up with them. Instead of pursuing them further he stopped to see Kai bowing to a group of females who were squealing with delight mixed with sadness from his words and actions.

"Excuse me princess but what exactly happened here?" Tamaki asked drawing aside one of the girls and smiling charmingly at her. Before she could say a word however the sound of a loud motor shook the area as a stage wound its way out of the ground next to Tamaki with Renge laughing as she normally did.

"Our new student Kai Kagesaki has won the hearts of us all with his touching yet sorrowful display of nostalgic reminiscing" Renge said taking out a handkerchief and wiping tears from the corner of her eyes as she pressed a button on a remote she held in the other hand which produced a screen next to her stage that was playing back the scene of just moments before which shocked Kai as his face took on the looks of a tomato. After the film had played out its entirety Tamaki had made his way to Kai and was hugging him while crying.

"That's so sad Kai. You're so much more delicate than I could ever have thought" he said clutching at the other boy whose face couldn't possibly get any redder. He broke out of his grasp and made his way over to Momoka who he had originally come out with. "I'm sorry Momo-chan I made you sad, and I've neglected you when I came out here to keep you company, please forgive me. I'll make it up to you tomorrow I promise" Kai said bowing to her in apology which cause all the girls in the area and Tamaki to look at him with admiration. A blush painted itself across Momoka's face as she looked at Kai.

"That's really not necessary" she said smiling at him with glistening eyes. Kai just smiled at her with a smile that could charm birds from their nests, at that moment Kai looked utterly angelic.

'He's perfect' Tamaki thought deviously.

After that scene at lunch classes resumed and Kai finished his work in moments from when he received it and closed his eyes to sleep but Tamaki slipped a note onto his desk. 'Kai-kun I have something that would perfectly suit your talents, please come to see me at the 3rd music room after school' it read. Kai looked at it skeptically and neatly scrawled at the bottom of the paper.

'I'm sorry but I'll have to decline, I'm quite busy after school and I'm fairly sure that whatever it is I'm not interested in it' it read back to Tamaki who frowned and sighed reverting to plan 'B' he got out his phone and texted the twins with his request to which they would undoubtedly carry out with perfection.

After class Kai slung his bag over his shoulder and made for the door, upon stepping out however he was grabbed by the arms and swept away by the same blurs he had seen the previous day that he had assumed were a fit of his fatigued imagination. Moments later he was standing outside of the 3rd music room and the blurs had gone inside. Trying to stop the spinning of his head Kai knelt down to the ground holding his head. Shortly after Tamaki came up behind him. "I see you've reconsidered" he said smiling as he helped Kai up off the floor. 'They may have over done it just a little' he thought feeling sorry for the poor boy.

"Welcome to the Ouran High School Host Club" Tamaki said as he opened the door to an onslaught of flying rose petals and the silhouettes of six figures.

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A/N: Ok I'm so happy I finished the first chapter. I was half done when I posted the prologue so I ended up finishing it sooner than I expected. I believe I've mentioned this before but please review, i'd love to know how to make my story better. 


	3. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

Kai looked at the six boys with a blank stare before taking a sideways glance at Tamaki who blocked the only exit. Turning back to the group of males...wait the short brown eyed one, there's no way those eyes belong to a guy, they're too placid. Amongst the girl there was what could only be identified as the still form of the two blurs had dragged Kai off. Off to one side was Kyoya with his clipboard and calculating eyes and to the other side there was a tall boy who seemed statuesque in his features with messy raven hair atop his head along with a young-looking blond haired boy. 'What and odd group' was all that ran through Kai's mind as he observed them.

"Kai-kun, meet my friends and fellow hosts: the tall one over there is Takashi Morinozuka, the blond boy on his shoulders is Mitsukuni Haninozuka, the twins over there are Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin and the young boy over there is Haruhi Fujioka. You already know Kyoya and me" Tamaki finished.

"Ok that's great...I'm Kai Kagesaki nice to meet you all. May I be permitted to leave now?" Kai turned asking Tamaki after introducing himself and bowing his respects.

"Together we are the Ouran Host Club, and as a rich school with plenty of beautiful girls who have time on their hands and even more beautiful boys who also have time on their hands we take pride in servicing these individuals by offering a pleasant atmosphere in which they can relax and engage in conversation with our talented staff and enjoying each other's company and also a variety of delectable deserts and teas" Tamaki said in an overly enthusiastic tone.

"That's great Suou-Kun, but what does this have to do with me?" Kai asked his sweet tone with the same edge of icy dismissal as before. This time however Tamaki brushed off the shiver with sheer determination.

"I want you to be our newest edition to the Host Club" Tamaki said at the peak of enthusiasm as though the statement had been a long thought out and prepared for event. Kai smiled sweetly at Tamaki and rested a hand on his shoulder then his face lost any trace of any emotion.

"No" Kai said simply before turning to head out the door while Tamaki had retired to his corner of gloom.

Haruhi sighed looking at Tamaki before walking off elsewhere in the room.

"Kagesaki-kun I'll have to ask you to reconsider, the Host Club could be a really interesting experience for a commoner like yourself, I believe Fujioka-san has learned a lot and enjoyed his time here with us thus far" Kyoya said drawing Kai's attention from the door of which he was about to open. Turning he smiled sweetly again.

"I'm sorry Ootori-kun, perhaps you didn't hear me, I believe I said no. Furthermore I'm sure you're a busy person as well and understand that time isn't always available for such leisurely activities" Kai said seemably reasoning with Kyoya yet not budging in his resolve to not join the Club.

"What could you possibly have better to do?" Hikaru asked in an annoyed voice causing Kai to stiffen. Turning towards the speaker Kai smiled sweetly and walked over to him.

"Hitachiin-kun, you're Hikaru am I correct?" Kai asked to which he nodded actually surprised that the boy before him hadn't mistaken him for his brother though they'd just been introduced and couldn't possibly know anything about them that could draw out that conclusion.

"Forgive me if I don't have time to waste entertaining people who have too much time on their hands. Unlike many rich people who I'm fairly sure have the majority of things in their lives taken care of for them by others I cannot afford such luxuries. So I'm sorry if I'm too busy taking care of the things you may for granted to play your games" Kai said a none to pleasing look crossing his otherwise angelic face as his voice was harsh though not in anyway disrespectful. Hikaru looked at him in a stupor as an interested look crossed Kyoya's face.

"Kagesaki-kun what kind of obligations must you take care of?" Kyoya asked.

"Well I do believe Ootori-kun, that isn't any of your business" Kai said the pleasant smile back on his face with the icy edge of dismissal and growing annoyance in the undertones of his words.

"Saki-chan don't you like us?" Honey asked jumping off of Mori and latching himself onto Kai who fell over at the impact.

"Please would you refrain from calling me Saki-chan" Kai said a pang of sadness going through his body at hearing the pet name her mother had for her father. Honey somehow noticed the sadness that Kai's distant look held within its depths.

"I'm sorry Ka-chan, I made you sad" Honey said hugging the younger teen who looked at Honey with a sweet type of sibling compassion as though the small intuitive boy were just an annoying but adorable little brother.

"I'm not sad Honey-sempai" Kai said gently removing the boy from around his neck and returning him to Mori who silently took his older cousin back from the quite polite and pleasant teen before him.

"Now if you'll all excuse me I'm running late and should be leaving now" Kai said bowing his respects once again before exiting the room.

"He's an odd one, why'd you want him in the club anyway Tono?" Hikaru and Kaoru asked only to realize Tamaki had disappeared from his gloom corner after Kai.

"This could be a problem" Haruhi said absently as she looked out the window to see Tamaki stalking after Kai.

"Let's all go!" Hikaru and Kaoru announced running off to catch up with Tamaki.

'So tired and I have another job tonight, grandpa will probably loose it 'cause I'm late, he'll start with the you can't be my daughter she'd never worry me like that and the shake me until I'm too dizzy to stand and have bruises on my arms before tossing me out of the house and going to his room in a fit where he'd sleep it off and be absolutely fine in the morning with no memory of the nights events' Kai thought sadly as his head started spinning. 'Damn, I forgot to take my supplements with all the commotion today. Walking into a convenience store Kai came back out with a bottle of water sighing as he sat down on a bench for a moment extracting three small bottles from his bag. Tamaki and the twins had followed on foot while the rest were in a Taxi. Kyoya the ever observant was continually scribbling on his clipboard while Tamaki took on a slightly confused look.

Opening the first bottle which was a grayish color Kai took out two oval shaped pills and downed them with water followed by opening an orange colored bottle and taking our a single circular pill and downing it with water followed by the purple colored container which he took out two slightly larger circular pills and downed those. Placing all the bottles back in his bag he checked the time on the street clock and took out a white container which he took three small pills from and downed them. 'Damn meds, I feel like a druggie taking so many pills what was that eight pills' Kai thought shaking his head and slid the remaining bottle of water into his bag.

"Ne Kyou-chan what are all those things Kai just ate, are they candy?" Honey asked.

"No Honey-sempai, I believe they're pills of some sort" Kyoya replied taking more notes.

"Is Ka-chan sick?" Honey asked worry in his voice and all over his face.

"I don't know" Kyoya said seriously.

Kai stood up and resumed his walk but while sitting and taking his meds he had noticed blond and rusty orange hair from behind a mail box and took a slight detour to get the group totally lost. He then disappeared around a corner and up a fence which he used as a ladder to reach the first set of balconies on the apartment building and then disappeared through one of the doors leading to the fire exist and out the other side of the building where he ran to his area of town, slipping into a cafe he quickly changed and let his hair out. 'Those guys are the embodiment of evil, stalking me like that' Kairi thought dully as she ran the rest of the way home and in to her angry looking grandfather.

"Mitsuki where were you? Do you know how late it is?" Keiichi asked.

"Sorry daddy I got held up at school, one of the teachers wanted to talk to me about the activities it had at school and I lost track of time" Kairi said.

"No daughter of mine would be so ignorant, you could have at least called!" Keiichi yelled grabbing Kairi's upper arms and shaking her violently.

"Daddy please stop you'll get sick, you're not supposed to exert yourself" Kairi said as she fought to keep her brains from flipping upside down.

"Stop calling me daddy, you demon! You stole my daughter from me! Give her back!" He yelled shaking me harder and hitting Kairi across the face. It clearly stung as she winced in response to the harsh action as he dragged her to the door and threw her out into the yard before storming back inside the house. 'Grandpa I'm so sorry' Kairi thought rubbing her cheek as she slid in through her window.

"I can't believe you lost her!" Hikaru yelled at Tamaki who cringed and started drawing circles on the ground in gloom.

"Calm down Hikaru" Kaoru chided as he rested a hand on his twin gently.

"Come on you three, get in before we leave you!" Haruhi called out the window of the cab.

Later that evening Kairi dressed in her performance outfit and went to the club where she proceeded to sing and play her guitar, voice as angelic as her mothers had been. After work Kairi began heading home but stopped, remembering Honey calling her Saki-chan. Tears welled up in her eyes as she changed course and walked to her home. The charred remains taunted her, the so called haunted house stood in all its horrid glory as memories resurfaced in her mind. She walked into the building and gently touched the burnt walls as phantom heat and fear caused her to crumple to the floor. "Mommy, daddy please come back" Kairi whimpered was tears flowed freely staining the long dried floors. After an hour of crying and reminiscing Kairi stood from her broken state on the floor and hollowly dragged her self towards the doors.

Flashback

"Saki-chan guess what, Kairi sang our song today" Mitsuki said pulling a six year old Kairi along with her.

"Mi-chan you're getting so worked up calm down you shouldn't be that surprised, what with parent's like us you should have seen it coming" Izumi said playfully scolding Mitsuki as he picked Kairi up and hugged her close.

"I love you sweetie, don't mind your mommy she's a little crazy when it comes to you" Izumi said smiling.

End Flashback

The echoes of laughter and joy resonated through the empty hallways to Kairi as she stood frozen to her spot, more tears spilling over. A moment later Kairi shoved the door open and ran right to her grandfather's home wiping at the tears in her eyes until they were red and puffy.

She lay there whimpering into her pillow as she tried to get whatever sleep she could manage but before she even stopped crying she heard her alarm clock and got up to face the day. She went through her regular morning routine save for preparing an extra lunch which would be her apology to Mokona, and then headed off to school her eyes were still a bit red but they didn't look anywhere near as bad as they had looked just a few hours earlier. The slap she had gotten to the cheek had left the skin a little tender but wasn't at all visible to which she was glad.

"Kai-Kun Good morn-" Tamaki called as he bounded into the room with Kyoya following behind, but he stopped short as he noticed the agitated look on Kai's face as he replied with a distant yet annoyed "good morning."

"Kyoya, Kai-kun looks scary" Tamaki whimpered not wanting to take a seat next to the boy whose once angelic and pleasant disposition had been completely erased.

"Then don't bother him" Kyoya said simply as he took his seat.

Class went by as usual except for the dull agitation radiating from Kai's form every time Tamaki said something to him. At Lunch Kai stood quickly dismissing himself from their company and left the room. Kai walked outside in hopes of clearing his head and finding Mokona. What he found instead was a struggling girl at a secluded part of the compound and two thug-like boys holding her captive.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to that girl?" Kai asked sauntering up to the three.

"What's it to you?" one of the guys asked in annoyance.

"Let her go" Kai said simply.

"You've got to be kidding there's no way in hell we're listening to you!" he yelled at Kai in anger and annoyance.

"I've asked you once and I'll ask you again, but I'm not asking the third time. Now let her go" Kai said menacingly which caused shivers of fear to course through the two assailants.

"Kagesaki-kun" the girl said as she had been one of the girls in his class but he'd never introduced himself to the girl and had no idea what her name was.

"No way pretty boy" the other guy said shoving the girl to his accomplice and the advancing on Kai. Kai dodged a punch tossed at him and the kicked the guy in the stomach and then when he had crumpled over knocked him to the ground.

"Let. Her. Go. Now." Kai said eyes menacingly boring into the guy who was holding her. Like he said before, he was done asking and this was an order.

"I'm sorry it was his idea!" the guy yelled letting go of the girl and running off like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this" Kai said to the guy on the ground who was whimpering in pain, a sorrowful yet cold expression adorning his face. Kai left him and led the girl away quickly to the main part of the campus.

"You should be more careful..." Kai paused waiting for a name to be given.

"Ayame Jounouchi, vice-chairman of class 2-A" she said.

"Aya-chan you shouldn't be walking around secluded areas on your own, it may be a private academy but no where is entirely safe" Kai stated seriously while looking at her.

"Thank you Kai-kun, I was so scared" Ayame cried hugging him. Kai patted her back comfortingly before sending her off to wherever she was to go next. Kai went off in search of Momoka again and this time found her sitting in the courtyard amongst the flowers, looking at them with a soft expression.

"A beauty looking at the beautiful" Kai mussed surprising Momoka.

"Kai-kun!" she exclaimed startled.

"Forgive me for startling you" Kai said bowing his apology.

"Oh forget it, its nothing I was just thinking is all" she said quickly.

"I came to drop of your apology from yesterday" Kai said, a smile crossing his face as he handed her the bentou before waving lightly and excusing himself back to his classroom.

Momoka looked at the bentou which was neatly wrapped in a pale blue cloth. Unwrapping the cloth and lifting off the lid she saw a beautiful arrangement of foods neatly packed and prepared in shapes of flowers. Looking at it in awe she was speechless.

Kai passed by the 2nd music room on his way back to class and curiosity got the best of him as he hoped there'd be a guitar in there. Opening the door he smiled as he saw a variety of stringed instruments, most of them were for classical music but there were a couple of guitars amongst the lot. Kai walked over and picked up the elegant black guitar with the gold finishing on it and traced his fingers delicately over the strings before beginning to play. Closing his eyes for a moment he let himself become absorbed by the music as his agitation washed away to the further recesses of his mind.

"Takashi what's that pretty sound?" Honey asked as they walked from the cafeteria towards their class.

"Ah" Mori responded walking in the direction the music was coming from to see a group of students peering into the 2nd music room where none other than Kai was sitting on a stool, his long delicate fingers dancing over the strings of the guitar as he seemed oblivious to the group of spectators, among which were Kyoya and Haruhi.

After a while his fingers danced in a slower rhythm gently ending off on a soft lonely note. There was silence in the room as he sighed and looked up only to be shocked by the group of people that had stopped to listen to him, He had felt the presence of a couple people as they opened the door but had not expected so many.

"That was beautiful Ka-chan but a little sad" Honey said jumping over to him.

"Um thank you" Kai said returning the guitar to its stand a blush on his face as he bowed excusing himself from the room. Though he had left, the spectators remained outside the door talking about him and his playing skills amongst other things.

'Note to self: No more playing at school. It get's creepy' Kai thought rushing back to his class.

Upon returning to class Kai waited for classes to resume as they had the past two days but the teacher never came and only a handful of students showed up. 'Ok what's going on now?' Kai wondered standing up and walking over to one of the remaining students in the class.

"Um sorry to bother you...Takanada-kun is it?" Kai asked making sure he knew the boys name before continuing.

"Yeah, but you don't have to be so formal, we're classmates and all just call me Souta" he said smirking at the boy who just smiled in response.

"Ok Sou-Kun" Kai said playfully for a moment and noticed Souta's face flush red.

"Sorry Souta-kun I didn't mean to embarrass you" Kai said softly his voice ringing with a soft laughter.

"Yeah yeah I asked for that didn't I" he said smirking at the other teen who just shrugged in response.

"Anyway what is it you wanted to know?" Souta asked.

"I was wondering when class is supposed to start again." Kai asked causing Souta to start laughing at the now very confused Kai.

"You have got your idea of Ouran a little mixed up. For the past two days we've been in class yes, but we don't do much if you've noticed, the atmosphere here is freer allowing students time to do what they please and indulge in the many activities, class happens daily but generally the teachers don't come if they've already given all the work for the next week or so and the students take that and go to the clubs and study and stuff" Souta explained to Kai who suddenly felt that coming to Ouran was one of the biggest mistakes he'd made in a while.

"Thanks Souta-kun" Kai said bowing his respects before grabbing his bag and waving to the other teen as he left the class. 'Damn Ouran, prestigious school my ass' Kai thought in annoyance as he headed towards class 1-A to see how Momoka had liked her apology gift before he would head home. Stopping in front of the class Kai poked his head in wondering if she would even be there and sure enough she was at what Kai presumed to be her desk surrounded by a couple other girls who were all gawking at something. Kai noticed a bit of blue cloth hanging off the side of the table and realized it was the bentou he had made and quietly snuck away before anyone could notice. 'Now not a good time' Kai thought heading to the front of the school. Before he could get there however he was snatched up and taken to the 3rd music room once again.

"Why am I here?" Kai asked simply as he found himself sitting on of the elegant couches facing the group.

"Well school's not over and since you have nothing better to do you might as well be here helping us please beautiful ladies" Tamaki said dramatically.

"If there is nothing better to do, then why is school not over?" Kai asked dully.

"It's clearly because activities of the social nature and such are part of the learning experience" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Fine I'll stay at school, but no one ever said I had to stay with you and I'd find my time more useful studying somewhere secluded and quiet" Kai said sweetly everyone just stared at him for a moment.

"Kagesaki-kun you're at the top of the class, tied for first with me and you've only just arrived, I don't think you need the extra time studying" Kyoya said.

"Actually I'm not that smart...I spent a lot of time studying over the past years to reach perfection" Kai said simply "and to keep up that perfection and my scholarship I have to remain top of the class and to do that I need to study."

"Such a persistent warrior you are Kai-kun fighting all odds for perfection" Tamaki said resting his hand on Kai's shoulder.

"In all fairness Kagesaki-sempai being a host isn't that bad and even if you're busy after school during school hours you'd have nothing better to do as all the places you could study are all noisy with people chatting" Haruhi said talking to Kai for the first time.

"Yes Haruhi persuade your fellow commoner into our ways and show him the glory of it all" Tamaki said dramatically. Haruhi looked at Tamaki for a moment before returning her attention to Kai.

"He's actually not that difficult to deal with once you get to know him even though he's annoying at times" Haruhi said simply sending Tamaki into his corner of gloom.

"Ka-chan already is so kind to the people here at Ouran and does that freely, If Ka-chan was part of the Host club he could act the same way just getting to spend more time with us too, ne Ka-chan" Honey said shimmying up onto the couch and into Kai's lap.

"He's right you know Kagesaki-kun, so far you've only acted as a proper host and we have gotten many girls coming and asking if you're part of the host club and if they could designate you" Kyoya said.

"How can I act like a host when I don't know how they're supposed to act?" Kai asked.

"Yeah really Kyoya. What's so great about him?" Hikaru asked. Kyoya pulled out a remote form his pocket and pressed a button and a large screen came out of the ceiling playing back Kai's most host-like moments over his few days at Ouran.

"This is a loan from Renge, she gave me the remote and said to convince you to join on behalf of your fan club" Kyoya said. Kai looked on in shock as the scene with him meeting Momoka played, followed by the lunch scene in the garden, then clips of how pleasantly his treated random people and then there was the clip of Kai saving the damsel in distress that very day which shocked all the hosts even Kyoya as he had not previewed the tape beforehand, and finally there was the guitar scene.

"See Kagesaki-kun you display perfect host-like behavior" Kyoya said and everyone drew their attention away from the screen as it disappeared into the ceiling. Kai's face was red with embarrassment at his life playing back on a big screen in front of him. 'Weird rich people, am I on some sort of 24 hour surveillance' Kai wondered in dismay.

"Ka-chan is red, are you sick? Here I'll lend you my Bun-Bun" Honey said holding out the stuffed pink bunny.

"I'm fine Honey-sempai" Kai said petting him on the head gently.

"May I have my bag back please?" Kai asked directing his attention towards the twins who held it hostage.

"No" they said in unison.

"Well can I have the white bottle in the second pocket on the right side of the inner pocket?" Kai asked dully.

"Roger" they said while beginning their search for the item in question.

"What is it Ka-chan, are you ill?" Honey asked his eyes shinning with worry.

"No, It's just a precaution the doctor said" Kai said.

"A precaution for what?" Kyoya asked.

"My mother though strong willed had a weak disposition and I partly inherited that from her" Kai replied.

"I see, and by the way you refer to your mother I take it she's passed on?" Kyoya asked again, Kai nodded solemnly.

"You poor boy, Kai-you're just like Haruhi with only a single parent" Tamaki said "is that a normal occurrence for commoners?"

Kai looked at Tamaki oddly for a moment.

"Well not exactly I live with my grandfather, my dad is dead too" Kai said in correction causing Tamaki's eyes to well up with tears as he went to hug him only to hug a cushion as Kai had picked up Honey and stood up out of the way.

"Think fast" Hikaru called tossing the white bottle at Kai who caught it before it hit Honey on the head.

"Thank you" Kai said sweetly as he popped open the bottle and took three of the small pills downing them dry.

"Kaoru-kun can you put it back for me please, I have a feeling Hikaru is going to put it in the wrong compartment to spite me" Kai said tossing the bottle to the correctly mentioned twin.

"How can you tell them apart Ka-chan?" Honey asked.

"Ah" Mori agreed in questioning.

"I don't know, just a feeling. I guess if I had to explain it Kaoru-kun is the youngest am I right?" Kai asked pausing in his explanation. Kaoru nodded in response.

"Well generally with twins they share a strong bond relying heavily on each other and though they seem identical in may ways each display different traits unique to their birth order. The first born being Hikaru would be protective of his twin and those who he may find as close friends. He may appear arrogant but ultimately seeks reassurance and admiration by his sibling and many other people in general. The second born being Kaoru is generally more lighthearted and is more dependant on others such as his elder sibling. He is more likely to be the one going along with Hikaru's ideas as the second born is more likely to follow than to lead, as he ultimately seeks acceptance rather than reassurance" Kai said causing many shocked expressions.

"Majoring in Psychology?" Kyoya asked.

"No actually so far Music theory and application is my Major and Psychology is my sub major" Kai said. Kyoya nodded and took note of that on his clipboard.

"You guys not saying anything?" Kai asked the twins who were currently red as tomatoes.

"You really read them perfectly" Haruhi said.

"Thanks but can I ask you something?" Kai said to which Haruhi nodded. Kai leaned closer to Haruhi.

"You're a girl right?" Kai whispered to which Haruhi nodded.

"Ok then" Kai said simply as though verifying her gender was all he cared about and the reason behind it meant nothing.

"Please join Ka-chan, I want to spend more time with you" Honey said eyes big and shinny Kai gently retuned Honey to Mori as he had the day before and smiled.

"I'll think about it ok" Kai said finally.

"Yay! We're getting somewhere" Tamaki said jumping for joy causing Kai to sweat drop.

"Kai-kun, I was just wondering why your bangs are white and you always wear a cap?" Kaoru said as his face had returned to its normal color.

"Well the bangs are probably due to a nutrition deficiency which is why I take those other pills you saw me take yesterday. They're vitamin supplements" Kai said in answer to the first question. All the Hosts froze.

"You knew we were there?" Tamaki asked to which Kai nodded.

"And to the cap question...I believe that's either because I like to or its none of your business" Kai said pondering out loud though his voice was sweet and inviting his meaning was cold and dismissing yet again.

"Kaoru I think we need to take off that hat don't you" Hikaru whispered to Kaoru who nodded in response as they sauntered over to Kai and snaked their arms across him, hanging on either side of him.

"Would you please get off, and don't even think about knocking my hat off" Kai said shaking them off and slipping away from them. Once again Kai shocked the group with how perceptive he was.

"Excuse me is Kai-kun here?" Ayame asked peering through the door.

"Aya-chan, are you feeling ok?" Kai asked walking over to her she nodded blushing.

"I just wanted to thank you for earlier" she said softly while bowing.

"It's nothing" Kai said smiling.

"Thank you anyway" She said leaning up and giving him a peck on the cheek before disappearing through the door.

"Now can I leave?" Kai asked turning around to see Kyoya writing.

"No don't leave Ka-chan!" Honey yelled running and jumping at Kai who fell over on the impact hat flying off and long silky black hair tumbling out from below it. Everyone stared at Kai in shock. Even Kyoya had not realized he was in fact a she.

"Ne Ka-chan you're a girl" Honey said to a blushing Kairi who had just been found out.

"Well I think we can work something out here" Kyoya said after getting over the initial shock to which Kairi glanced up at him.

"If you join the host club we'll keep your secret" Kyoya said.

"Fine" Kairi said.

"Kai I think you owe" Hikaru said.

"Us an explanation" Kaoru finished.

"My real name is Kairi Kagesaki" Kairi said shaking her hair our a bit.

"That's impossible the Kairi Kagesaki who lived at the place that phone number in your school profile belonged to died" Kyoya said.

"Well not exactly, the fire got put out in time and I just hid from the firefighters is all. I don't see how it's so unbelievable, I mean they hadn't found any bones or a charred carcass so it's not like I'm actually where my grave is" Kairi said dully.

"But why would you hide from them?" Haruhi asked.

"Because they were late" Kairi said sadly.

"Late?" Kyoya asked.

"My parents were already dead so it didn't really matter" Kai said simply as her eyes glistened with tears that were threatening to overflow. When no one said anything Kai smiled.

"But you can see my predicament, a dead person couldn't possibly come to school" Kairi said.

* * *

A/N: Well thank you to all of you who reviewed my story this is the second chapter and I hope you liked it. I should be done the third chapter sometime tomorrow as I'm trying to get the ideas down before I forget them. I just wanted to make a note in regards to one reviewer who referred to my prologue as crap. I can understand if you don't like it it's your opinion and all but I'd appreciate if you'd give constructive critics, not pointless flames. 


	4. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

"So where do you live? You couldn't possibly be living in the burnt remains of your house..." Hikaru said

"Could you?" Kaoru finished.

"Occasionally, but no. I live with my grandfather. Now I really do have to get going, he worries when I'm late" Kairi said fixing her hair and pulling the hat back over it, once again becoming Kai.

"Bye Bye Ka-chan, see you tomorrow" Honey said waving as Kai grabbed his bag of the table. Kai turned at the door and smiled an angelic smile.

'Been a long and awkward day' Kai thought as he followed his routine trek home.

"Daddy I'm home!" Kairi called

"Mitsuki honey how was school?" Keiichi asked smiling as he walked out of his room.

"It was fine, I even made some friends" Kairi said smiling.

"That's great to hear sweetie, I'm feeling a little tired so I'm going to go back to sleep ok" Keiichi said before returning to his room.

Kairi stood solemnly looking into the full length mirror against her wall, next to her desk. 'Who am I kidding with this act? I can smile and I can please only so that I may cover this damn emptiness' Kairi thought touching the mirror gently. Long silky black locks cascaded over her shoulders, her stained white bangs framing her pale porcelain like skin. Deep amber eyes looked back at her. 'Who am I but the living carcass of a distant memory?' she asked looking away from the mirror and removing the amber contacts. Returning her gaze to the mirror, her hazy grey-white eyes staring back at her. 'Is this me? This pathetic hypocritical girl who is buried next to her parents, yet stands before her own reflection?' A gentle silvery light leaked through the window behind her illuminating her sorrowful face and giving the room and eerie glow.

'I can't be Mitsuki...she's dead. I can't be Kairi...she's dead. I can't be Kai...he doesn't exist. So who can I be?' Her soft voice began to spill forth a sorrowful melody.

"You always thought I was happy, just fine, no complaints. Of course you would because all you ever see is a smile. You never cared enough to perhaps look beyond it, to glimpse some of the hidden grief lying there. We all know that reality is just an illusion, so why do you not wonder how I can be so perfect. It's all just an illusion; if it weren't I wouldn't have allowed you to take advantage of me, damning me into an unchanging hypocritical façade. I fooled you didn't I? Of course I would, it's just the way I am and just the way you are. Maybe if I wrote "fragile" on my forehead you might understand. The need to be delicate probably doesn't matter, as this perfectly painted porcelain face has long since been broken. Hairline cracks run over it, webbed patterns showing on its once flawless surface. Though I am aged it's still alright, for I am the hanged man. I will guide you even as you seek to mislead me. I will comfort you even as you deny me. I will take your hand even as you shun me. I will be there to heal your wounds even as I bleed, for I am the hanged man. Forever inverted, my painted smile never falters."

'That's right my painted smile will never falter. I have no existence of my own; I'm here only to please others. I have no right to this life. This hollow existence is my punishment for killing my own parents' she thought turning away from the mirror and putting the contacts back in.

"I'm Mitsuki and I'm Kai but only because I myself don't exist" Kairi whispered to herself as she stared at her reflection, the amber orbs deceitfully warm and welcoming. Walking away from the mirror Kairi traced the body of her father's black guitar. 'Unlike me, you never lie' Kai thought letting her fingers dance gently over the strings before placing a feather soft kiss on its surface and going to sleep.

"Kai-kun go get changed, you officially start you work as a host today!" Tamaki said proudly as Kai walked off in the direction he'd be pointed in. Putting on the blue uniform Kai glanced briefly at his reflection in the mirror. 'Go please them, it's all you're good for' Kai thought almost bitterly before placing on his smile.

"What's taking you so long?" The twins nagged from outside the curtain.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" Kai said politely as he stepped out from behind the curtain and bowed his apology.

"Ka-chan looks nice" Honey said.

"Thank you Honey-sempai you're too kind to me" Kai said tilting his head slightly while smiling down at the smaller boy.

"Now to be a good host you should..." Tamaki started.

"He's a better host than you Tono so just let him go to work" Hikaru and Kaoru said dully causing Tamaki to retire to his corner of gloom.

"Tamaki-sempai what 'type' is Kai?" Haruhi asked glancing over at Kai who gave her a puzzled look.

"Why he'll by the Solemn Angel type" Tamaki announced.

"Solemn Angel?" Kai asked rather skeptical about the title he'd just been given.

"With angelic features, an overall pleasant disposure and a distant and sorrowful philosophical outlook, the Solemn Angel type is perfect for you" Tamaki said dramatically. 'You've got to be kidding me' Kai thought in slight annoyance but dismissed it as he had gotten slightly used to the eccentric attitude of his classmate.

"Kagesaki-kun you have some girls who'd like to designate you so if you'd please get to work" Kyoya said gesturing to a few girls sitting around a coffee table and looking over at him, amongst which he recognized Ayame and Momoka.

"Kai-kun I'm so glad you became a host" Ayame said softly as she sat across the table from Kai who was pouring her tea.

"Thank you Aya-chan but really it's not that big of a deal" Kai said sweetly looking up at her at a half angle while gently resting the tea cup on the saucer in front of her.

"Kai-kun why'd you join the host club?" a girl by the name of Shira asked.

"Well I like to make people happy, the sweet expressions and smiles I receive from everyone makes it seem so much more worth while in the end" Kai said softly to which the girls began to squeal with hearts floating around them.

"Kai-kun I heard you play the guitar yesterday, it was beautiful. Where'd you learn to play?" a girl by the name of Mayu asked.

"I learned from my father, he was a great guitarist with a passion for music few people have" Kai said his gaze wandering as thoughts of his father playing the guitar filled his head.

"What's your father like? Does he look like you?" Mayu asked.

"Actually I take after my mother for looks, but my father was an amazing man, kind and caring. He always had a smile on his face" Kai said almost sadly as he thought of it.

"Kai-kun you seem so sad when you talk about your father and you also keep using words referring to things past in describing him, is something the matter with him?" Momoka asked.

"He and my mother died when I was nine" Kai said in response to her question to which all the girls looked at him with tears building in their eyes.

"I'm sure they were great people Kai-kun" Ayame said sadly.

"Who do you live with?" Shira asked.

"I live with my grandfather. He's very protective of me, especially after my parents' deaths. He didn't take it so well. Whenever I go home from school though, he always greets me with a big smile as though he hadn't seen me in months. I feel bad for him though, he loved my mother dearly and though he seems happy he can't get over the shock of finding out that she died" Kai said thoughtfully as tears spilled from the girls' eyes.

"Ka-chan that's so sad" Honey said jumping into Kai's lap his eyes watering.

"Don't any one of you cry about this now, you'll make me feel bad. Your beauty shouldn't be marred by tears of sorrow. The past is the past and though we must learn from it, dwelling in its shadows would only cause unnecessary pain and grief" Kai said glancing out the large windows. Standing he walked over to them as the sunlight streamed through caressing his face with its warmth.

"The sun is shinning its warmth for us, you should smile with it or it may hide away from us out of sorrow" Kai said smiling and looking back over his shoulder an angelic smile on his face which seemed all the more enchanting by the sunlight illuminating his features. The girls looked at him a moment in wonder before smiles replaced the sorrow on their faces.

"It's a sin to make a lady cry and had you not cheered up I'd have been damned for sure" Kai said a light laugh playing on his features. The girls were so captivated they couldn't even speak.

"That's adorable Kai" Tamaki said running over and hugging the poor teen who began coughing for air.

"Tam-ak-ee-ca-n't-brea-the" Kai chocked out as lack of air was becoming a problem. "Mo-ri-se-mm-pai-he-el-puh" Kai chocked out again as Tamaki seemed oblivious to anything he said. Mori picked Kai up holding him above Tamaki's reach.

"Thank you so much Mori-sempai" Kai said as the he was set back on the ground. Kai then bowed his thanks and looked up smiling. Tamaki had taken on a look of shock before it was replaced by gloom where his customers ran to comfort him.

"Ah" Mori replied.

Two months passed by for Kai and the host club. They were getting along well at school but once school was over Kai would always become dismissive as he bade them goodbye before heading home. Though Kai was doing alright with keeping a safe distance from the hosts in terms of emotions they were so enthusiastic about befriending him that he was having it most difficult. Kairi's dull existence was getting more difficult as her grandfather seemed to be getting more ill and the hospital bills began to climb. When he was home the slightest thing would send him into a fit and as a result Kairi had accumulated quite the amount of bruises. Mitsuki's existence though calming to the old man seemed to waver in his delirium. Things at the club were going well except that because Kairi was always so tired from host club activities and dealing with her grandfather she often found it hard to even hold the guitar up.

"Kai you're looking really cute in that kimono" Kaoru said.

"It's hard to believe you can even pass off as a guy" Hikaru added. Kai looked at them and simply smiled.

"Thank you but I have no idea what you're talking about" He said causing the two to look at him skeptically.

"Host club activities are over for today Kai, you can go home now if you wish" Kyoya said to which Kai nodded and ran off to get changed to see that Haruhi was there already.

"Oh sorry" Kai said slipping back out of the room.

"It's ok we're both girls I don't mind" Haruhi called but because of the bruises that layered his body he wasn't to keen on changing with anyone.

"It's alright I'll wait here" Kai said.

"Kairi, it's been two months since you came to Ouran and it seems to me you're used to everyone here now, but you're still so distant. We hardly know anything about you and you're incredibly hard to read especially when you're smiling" Haruhi said coming out from the change room and looking at the girl who stood against the wall as a guy. The hat that seemed to be almost indefinitely stuck to her head in her hands as her hair flowed down her back and spilled over her shoulders.

"Really Haruhi, if I were as distant as you think I'd stay in character all the time" Kairi said smiling while passing her fingers through her hair.

"It's gotten so long, and it's such a hassle to hide but grandpa would throw a fit if I ever cut it" Kairi said laughing lightly.

"Kairi as your friend I'm telling you that you don't need to pretend here when we're not hosting. You can simply be yourself" Haruhi said softly as Kairi slid into the change room and quickly changed out of the Kimono and back into the uniform.

"Haruhi you worry too much" Kai said coming out and ruffling her hair gently to which Haruhi just sighed. As Kai was heading for the door Honey ran over to Kai.

"Ne ne Ka-chan, can I come over to your house this weekend?" He asked sweetly. Kai's face paled 'they've never asked to come over before, I didn't even anticipate this.'

"Yeah we want to come too" the twins said.

"We'll all go!" Tamaki announced.

"No you can't I'm sorry but I'm busy this weekend" Kai said.

"Doing what?" Haruhi asked.

"I'm taking my grandfather to the doctor; he's been feeling a little under the weather I think it may be because of how cold it's been lately. I have this sneaking suspicion that while I'm out he's playing around in the snow" Kai said dully causing everyone to look at him blankly before bursting out into laughter, save for Mori who showed no emotion and Kyoya who just chuckled rather than laughing.

"What brought on this suspicion, may I ask?" Kyoya said.

"The fact that there are foot prints and snowmen in the yard" Kai stated bluntly causing more laughter to erupt form the group.

"It's not funny, he's an old man and that kind of behavior is unacceptable, he could get seriously ill" Kai said sounding like a mother would, causing the twins to snicker as they snaked their arms around Kai.

"You worry" Hikaru said.

"Too much" Kaoru finished.

'Now who worries too much Kairi' Haruhi thought shaking her head.

"No I worry just enough" Kai said pouting before waving them off and leaving.

'Seriously what's wrong with Keiichi it's like he's lost his mind, playing in the snow and then denying it. Forgetting who I am and knocking me up. Bursting into fits of joy and occasionally tears when I get home. Getting set off at any little thing that seems off about my behavior. He's like a walking time bomb of emotions which are at the extremes. It's either he's really happy or furiously violent' Kairi thought as she stepped into her house to see Keiichi unconscious on the floor by the phone. Kairi's eyes grew wide and she ran to Keiichi's side and checked his pulse, it was so faint that tears began welling up in her eyes before she could think.

"Daddy!" she yelled at him trying to rouse a response out of him but to no avail. Jumping up she ran to the phone and called the paramedics.

"I have an emergency my father collapsed and he won't wake up!" she yelled into the phone crying.

"Keiichi Rikyou" Kairi said before hanging up the phone waiting by her grandfather's side. 'Please don't leave me too' Kairi thought wiping at the tears in her eyes.

The paramedics came and took her grandfather to the hospital. She waited restlessly in the waiting room for what seemed like hours before a doctor came out of the room.

"Mitsuki, your grandfather is going to be fine. He just caught a bit of a fever from the cold. He should be back to normal in a day or two. He's sleeping now but you're welcome to go in with him" the doctor said gesturing to the room behind him. Kairi nodded and walked over to the room, pushing the door open slowly to see Keiichi sound asleep.

"Please don't worry me like that again daddy" she whispered into his ear. Dragging over one of the chairs in the room she situated it beside the bed and took a seat holding his hand as she hummed softly, a wordless song. Not too long after, Kairi fell asleep holding her grandfather's hand.

"Now you can't exert yourself too much. The doctor said to rest for at least a week before you can go all invincible father again. I'm staying home again to keep an eye on you. If you need anything at all just call me I'll be in my room studying" Kairi said.

"But Mitsuki I'm feeling all better now" Keiichi whined.

"I said no" Kairi said firmly before walking to her room and leaving a pouting Keiichi behind. 'I hope they won't be mad I'm missing club activities' Kairi thought as she looked through her notes from the few classes that were actually held, before becoming drowsy and falling asleep on her books.

"Ne Tama-chan, Ka-chan's been away for three days now. Is she alright?" Honey asked an already panicking Tamaki.

"My poor daughter must've become ill. Mother what's her address?" Tamaki asked looking at Kyoya with sparkly eyes.

"I don't think we should bother her, I mean she may be just taking care of her grandfather until he's better" Haruhi said seriously.

"Haruhi how can you be so indifferent towards your sister?" Tamaki asked dramatically. Pushing him aside the twins hung off of each side of Haruhi.

"You know Kaoru, Kai hasn't ever invited us over before" Hikaru said.

"Yes Hikaru, and she seemed quite pale when Honey-sempai asked to go over" Kaoru said.

"I think there's something she doesn't" Hikaru said.

"Want us to see" Kaoru finished. The two looked to Haruhi as though she may have the answer.

"Kyoya-sempai do you know Kairi's address?" Haruhi questioned.

"I know the address of her only living relative" Kyoya said.

"That would be her grandfather right?" Haruhi asked to which Kyoya nodded.

"Well give her at least one more day" Haruhi said, worried about her senior friend while also feeling as though something wasn't right at her home and that's why she went so pale at Honey's request to visit her.

"Mitsuki I want to do something, I'm bored" Keiichi complained as he walked to his daughters' room to see her asleep on her note books.

"She must be really tired after having been at the hospital with me for three days straight" Keiichi thought quietly walking back to his room.

'Did someone call me?' Kairi wondered drowsily as she sat up. No one seemed to be in the vicinity so she went back to sleep.

"She didn't come to school all day today or yesterday and tomorrow is Saturday" Hikaru said dully.

"Can we go check on her now, or are we putting it off until tomorrow again?" Kaoru asked.

"We'll go now!" Tamaki announced.

"No you won't" Kyoya said sternly.

"We'll go after club activities" Tamaki corrected.

"Ne Takashi, I miss Ka-chan, what if something's wrong with her?" Honey asked his cousin.

"I'm sure she's fine Mitsukuni" Mori said patting the boy affectionately over the head.

"Daddy are you alright you seem-" Kairi started.

"Shut up! Who are you? You're not my daughter. What have you done with her you devil?" Keiichi yelled grabbing Kairi by the arms and shaking her roughly.

"Daddy it's me Mitsuki really" Kairi said before wincing at being shoved into the wall.

"I hope she likes strawberries ne Haru-chan" Honey said smiling as they stopped the car at the destination.

"I'm sure she does Honey-sempai" Haruhi said smiling. As the group emerged from the car they heard muffled yelling from inside the house causing them to exchange worried looks. They rang the doorbell only for it to be either unnoticed or ignored.

"Mitsuki would never do something like that! My Mitsuki would never! Give me back my daughter!" the heard an infuriated and possibly mad man yell from inside followed by a loud crash.

"Kairi!" Haruhi called worry evident in her voice. No answer.

"Yo Kairi what the heck is wrong with you answer the door" Hikaru called.

"Something's definitely wrong" Kaoru said as he tried the door as it slid open easily.

"Kairi daddy's here!" Tamaki called as he ran into the house past everyone else only to be stopped short as he saw the young girl pleading with her grandfather.

"Daddy stop please, you'll have an aneurism!" Kairi said as she was shaken violently by the old man. She wasn't even attempting to get out of his grasp. The group of hosts caught up with Tamaki and were also stopped in their tracks as none of them could have expected what they were seeing.

"You stole my daughter from me you devil! Give me back my Mitsuki!" he yelled shoving her into a counter where she had put her hands back to brace the impact only to shatter a class dish and cut her hands.

"Kairi!" Haruhi called running to her side as she slumped to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tamaki yelled at Keiichi.

"Wait Tamaki please it's not his fault!" Kairi yelled as the old man seemably oblivious to everyone else there walked out of the house.

"What do you mean" Hikaru said

"It's not his fault!" Kaoru finished. The two seemed just as angry as Tamaki was.

"Ka-chan is hurting?" Honey asked hugging the girl as Mori bent down and examined her hands. Her long delicate fingers were bleeding and were trembling slightly. Kyoya had disappeared to the car and returned with a first aid kit. He cleaned and dressed her wounds gently while Tamaki and the twins bombarded her with questions. None of which she answered.

"You're lucky those cuts weren't deep I don't believe they damaged any of the tendons but once they're fully healed we'll know for sure" Kyoya said standing and placing the kit on the counter. Offering a hand to pull her up Kyoya grasped her wrist gently and pulled her to her feet. After letting her go however her legs shook and she began to fall only to be caught by Mori.

"Sorry just a little shaky is all" Kairi said smiling. Of all things that smile though so natural seemed out of place on the trembling girl's face.

"I'll make tea and we can talk" Kairi said smiling up at Mori but he didn't let her go.

"I'll make the tea, you all go sit down. Don't explain anything until I get there" Haruhi said standing, reluctant to leave her friend's side.

"Ne Ka-chan I brought cake, do you like strawberries?" Honey asked to which he just received a small smile. As Mori steadied Kairi while she walked to a side room with a fairly large Kotatsu sitting in the middle of it. Honey took a seat next to Kairi while Mori sat with her in his lap to keep her from tipping backwards as she was a bit dizzy from all the violent shaking.

"Kairi why didn't you tell daddy that your grandpa was hurting you?" Tamaki asked looking at the silent girl and taking a seat net to Kyoya. The twins seemed restless as they looked at her, since she was Mitsuki at the time she had on an adorable white and beige sleeveless dress with a pale beige sweater hanging off her shoulders revealing the bruised skin below it. Haruhi walked in with the tea and placed it on the table serving everyone. She had also brought in the cake that Honey had brought. She took an open seat at the Kotatsu next to Mori and Kairi.

"It's not his fault he's just having a difficult time is all" Kairi said softly.

"That's no excuse to toss you around!" Kaoru yelled.

"Please don't yell, my head is kind of spinning" Kairi said instantly placating the teen.

"My grandfather Keiichi had hated my father and when he wouldn't let my mother marry him she ran away. He was devastated but figured that he'd be able to see her when she came to her senses. But instead she had me and there was no contact between them at all. After the fire I had seen him at my mother and father's funeral. I had never met him before so I didn't know who he was, but he seemed to visit my mother's grave quite frequently. At the time I was living in my house, sure some areas were brunt past recognition but it was still my home and I had nowhere else to go, hell I was dead to the world. Then contractors came to knock down the house and start rebuilding but I caused some little accidents making them believe it was haunted. They left the place alone after that. Keiichi had probably heard the rumors of the house being haunted by the family who died in the fire and came to see for himself. I had been playing the guitar that day and he followed the sound to me. In an instant I knew that he was my mother's father, he had her deep warm amber eyes. He said 'Let's go home Kairi; but the way he said my name made me feel odd like it was out of place coming from his mouth. Not long after I was at his home and in my mother's old room. It appeared as though untouched, everything presumably the same as how she'd left it. Then as he was out one day I was roaming around and went into his room. I saw millions of pictures of my mother scattered about and posted up on the walls. And I realized why my name felt so wrong when he said it. When he looked at me he saw my mother as a child, he didn't see her young daughter, and he never would. I knew it was wrong to feed his delusions but I couldn't help it I had taken his sweet daughter from the world and he was lonely and grieving for it. All he wanted was another chance to take care of her, do it right so that she wouldn't end up dead. I went out and got amber contacts to hide my eye color and I was the spitting image of my mother down to the last strand of my hair. When he came home and looked at me he tested my name out, unsure of himself. He asked if my name was Kairi, and like the fool I was I deceived him saying I was his daughter Mitsuki" Kairi paused.

'Silly daddy don't you even remember your own daughter's name' Kairi thought as her own words from that day replayed in her mind.

"After that everything was fine he forgot about my mother's grave and all the pictures and I lived as Mitsuki. As the years went by if I had stayed out late or wore something that Mitsuki never wore then he would loose it kind of like he just did but not as rash, he just kind of knocked me up a bit and the kicked me out and either went to bed or went out. The next day he'd have no memory of the occurrence, it's possible he was in denial but I never questioned it. It had been my fault for going along with it in the first place. But even though that happened it was rare until recently that is. Lately he's been passing out all over the place and throwing fits at every little thing, today I didn't even do anything; I was just studying. Last week he had come down with a high fever and passed out I had thought he was dying and called the hospital; turns out he was fine after three days. Then I stayed home this week to take care of him. This is only the second outburst this week so I think he's calming down" Kairi said smiling as she sipped her tea.

"Two questions what did you mean about amber colored contacts?" Hikaru said.

"And do you have a picture of your mother?" Kaoru said.

"Well I got my father's eye color" Kairi said looking down for a moment before sliding the contacts from her eyes to reveal the eerie yet beautiful grey-white color she'd inherited from her father.

"That's quite an unnatural color" Kyoya stated.

"Ka-chan's even prettier" Honey exclaimed in hopes of lightening the mood a bit.

"As for the picture, if you open the second drawer from the top in the chest of drawers in the room next to this one on the right you'll see a whole bunch of pictures. Would you care to pick up a couple please Kaoru, Hikaru?" Kairi asked to which they nodded and disappeared to return moments later with shocked looks and their mouths agape as they dropped four pictures on the table.

"Ka-chan does look like her mommy" Honey said.

"The resemblance is amazing" Tamaki stated looking at her then the pictures.

"Kairi?" Mori asked softly as the girl in his lap had become quite still and silent.

"Kairi?" He asked again shaking the girl gently. Once again there was no response and everyone looked worried. Mori brushed her bangs from her face to see she had passed out with a high temperature. Moving away from the Kotatsu he picked her up Haruhi stopping him to feel the girl's forehead. She then ran off to the kitchen for some cool water and a towel to bring the fever down.

They found her room after ducking into a couple. It was simple yet elegant. Hikaru and Kaoru fumbled with the futon as they dragged it out of the closet and attempted to fix it with Tamaki's help. Then Mori laid Kairi down and sat beside her with Honey in his lap. Haruhi came in and put the cool damp cloth on her head as Kyoya called a doctor on his cell phone.

"She really has it tough" Haruhi said sadly as she looked at the sleeping girl.

* * *

A/N: I know it's late but here's the third chapter. I'm going to visit family on Wednesday and don't suppose i'll be coming home until two days before school but I'm going to see if I can get a laptop so I can keep writing while I'm there. Even if I can't post i'll still be writing and by the time I get back home I should have a lot of new stuff for you all. I'm going to try and get the next chapter up tomorrow and if not tomorrow definitely on Monday. Thanks for reading, see you in chapter 4. 


	5. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

"She's malnourished and her blood pressure is unstable which is the most likely reason for the fever. This girl needs to go to a hospital Ootori-sama" the doctor said stiffly while glancing down at Kairi.

"Thank you but is there anyway we can deal with it here?" Kyoya asked considering the fact that should Kairi end up in the hospital, her grandfather may go clinically insane.

"Well we need to rehabilitate her for the malnutrition. You could do that here but it's important that you don't force her to eat a lot at once or she could get worse. Until now she's been taking vitamin supplements, but they're not enough. Supplements are meant to fill in what one lacks from their food not replace one's diet. As for her blood pressure, I'd say that her body has little to no sodium which would be the cause of her fainting spell; other things that may result from this lack of sodium may include cramping of muscles and heart contractions. This is trickier to deal with as you really can't just give her salt to eat to make up what her body lacks in it like you can with food to cure her malnutrition. Should you try to stabilize her by having her eat a dose of salt with every meal or mixing salt into her water may result in her blood pressure rising rather than stabilizing. This may lead to her going into cardiac arrest or having severe migraines" The doctor said.

"If her malnutrition is cured then it wouldn't be necessary to tamper with her blood pressure, as that would stabilize her overall, correct?" Kyoya asked.

"Ootori-sama it's not that simple and getting her eating like a normal person her age might take weeks depending on her body's reaction to the food. The best thing for her is to be in a hospital hooked up to an IV, her blood pressure should stabilize through that, and the nurses would be able to regulate her eating patterns while monitoring any changes" the doctor said seriously.

"Thank you for your assistance you may leave now, and for the time being an ambulance isn't required" Kyoya said dismissing the man.

"Is she going to be alright?" Tamaki asked walking out from her room to see the doctor leaving.

"We have to get her to eat nutritious foods in small portions until her body recovers from its lack of nourishment, the doctor said that could take quite a while depending on her body's willingness to accept the food and recover" Kyoya said addressing everyone as he walked back into the room with Tamaki.

"When do you think the old man is going to be back?" Hikaru asked.

"I don't know" Kyoya said but glanced at the clock just the same.

"We should leave before he gets back or she may get into more trouble if she's not allowed to have people over" Haruhi said, reluctant to leave her friend in such circumstances.

"We can't just leave her here, what if her grandfather goes mental again" Kaoru said.

"Someone should stay with her" Hikaru offered.

"As I'm the father I'll stay" Tamaki announced.

"No way, if she sees you she may get worse rather than better" The twins said sending Tamaki into his corner of gloom.

"I wanna stay with Ka-chan ne Takashi?" Honey asked. No one said anything but appeared to be considering it up until the point where it was time to feed her. Honey's idea of any food is cake or sweets.

"No Honey-sempai I don't think that's a good idea" Haruhi said. Honey pouted for a moment before smiling and waiting eagerly to know who'd be staying with her.

"We'll stay" the twins said to which Tamaki went crazy.

"I'm not leaving my daughter in your care, what if you and then you and oh it's too horrible to think about" Tamaki went on, his imagination filled with images of the twins torturing her.

"Well fine, didn't want to stay anyway" Hikaru mumbled.

"Kyou-chan should stay, he knows what the doctor said to do ne" Honey offered. They all looked at Kyoya who seemed to be a valid choice.

"I'm busy and have to take care of hospital preparations should it come to that" Kyoya said ending the thought right there.

'The cold hearted shadow king emerges' the twins though hugging each other while shuddering.

"I could stay" Haruhi offered as she really wanted to stay and figured anyone of the group of males would somehow drive her insane.

"No I couldn't bare the thought of leaving my two daughters here with a raving psychopath" Tamaki said getting the exaggerated image of Keiichi blowing up the house while they were in it, in his mind.

"I don't think Kairi would appreciate you talking about her grandfather like that" Haruhi said.

"Well if Haruhi doesn't stay then that leaves Mori-Sempai" Kaoru observed.

"Ah" Mori said seeming not to mind.

"Takashi, you stay here and take good care of Ka-chan till we come back ne" Honey said patting Mori on the head.

"Ah" he said.

'Poor girl, I hope he says more than "Ah" to her when she wakes up' Kaoru thought dully.

"I still think we should stay" Hikaru stated absently noticing his brother's look.

"We can take turns then, and Mori-sempai will go first" Kyoya said finally as he realized no one would make a final decision should they not all get what they want.

"Honey-sempai should stay with Mori-sempai" Haruhi offered the idea worrying about Kairi should Honey have to take care of her himself even for one day. To this idea everyone agreed.

"Should anything happen while one of you are watching her, call my cell phone right away" Tamaki begged, only to get knocked on the head as the twins grabbed him by each arm heading to the door.

"Come on Tono, time to go" they said in unison.

"Hikaru, Kaoru. You'll be watching her tomorrow. Haruhi the next day, Tamaki the next followed by myself and then we'll start over" Kyoya said.

"Roger" The twins said as they dragged Tamaki out to the car with Kyoya and Haruhi following behind.

"Ne ne Takashi what should I make for Ka-chan to eat when she wakes up, strawberry or chocolate cake?" Honey asked looking up at the stoic figure of his cousin. Honey of course didn't mean make it himself he meant order it from a high class pastry chef and put it on a plate with a cup of milk.

"Mitsukuni can you refresh the water?" Mori asked to which Honey nodded and ran off with the bowl sloshing some onto the hallway floor as he went. Kairi groaned as she heard the chipper voice of the elder teen and opened her eyes to see her ceiling.

"Ka-chan's awake!" Honey yelled happily as he ran into the room with the new bowl of water.

"Now Ka-chan you have to rest up and we'll bring you dinner in a little while" Honey said taking the damp towel from her forehead and soaking it in the cool water, ringing out the water he placed at back on her forehead. She looked thoroughly confused at what was going on but then remember the events of earlier that day.

"I'm fine really just was a little tired, I'll make dinner. Where is everyone else?" Kairi said sitting up and taking the towel from her head.

"Rest now" Mori said gently pushing the teen back down, taking the towel from her hands he placed it on her forehead again. Kairi blinked twice and looked up at Mori who sat as still as a statue over her futon.

"Ka-chan, we're taking first watch of you so don't worry about anything, we'll take care of you ne Takashi?" Honey said.

"Ah" Mori replied standing and heading to the kitchen.

"Mitsukuni stay here with Kairi" he said as he left the room.

"Ka-chan's grandpa is scary" Honey said sadly as he snuggled into the blankets with her.

"He's really a nice guy when he's not throwing a fit. He loved my mother very much and her death sent him into a pit of grief and he just can't seem to get over it" Kairi said hugging Honey tightly.

"Ka-chan doesn't feel sad that her grandpa doesn't know who she is?" Honey asked.

"No like I said before at the host club. I like pleasing people and making them smile, I'd give up my own identity a thousand times if Keiichi smiles just once after seeing me as mom" Kairi said softly closing her eyes and thinking about every time Keiichi smiled because of her.

"Takashi that was yummy, ne Ka-chan?" Honey asked the girl who had barely eaten a full spoon of rice, during the time he had eaten his entire meal.

"Mitsukuni would you go make some tea?" Mori asked to which Honey nodded and scampered of.

"Is it not good?" Mori asked to which Kairi looked at him and smiled.

"No it tastes quite delicious, thank you Mori-sempai" she said yet not attempting to eat more. Mori moved closer to her and took the bowl from her hands.

"You have to eat to get better" Mori said taking the spoon and lifting some rice to her mouth. She looked at him oddly for a moment before hesitantly opening her mouth. Mori fed her the spoonful of rice and watched as she slowly chewed and swallowed.

"I'm really not that hungry sempai" Kairi said awkwardly. She knew she was hungry but she felt as though she couldn't eat after not having taken anything, save for pills for almost two years.

"Must finish rice, it's not that much" Mori said as he held another spoonful of rice for her to eat. She sighed and ate it without further protest. It took a while but eventually Mori had gotten her to eat the contents of the small bowl.

"Sorry I'm so difficult" Kairi whispered softly.

"Not your fault" Mori replied to which Kairi gave him a puzzled look.

"Sorry it took so long, I couldn't find the tea leaves" Honey said sadly as he placed a tray with the teapot and three cups on it.

"Ka-chan ate it all up ne Takashi?" Honey asked gesturing towards the rice bowl.

"Ah" Mori said.

They sipped their tea in silence until Honey fell asleep. Kairi Kept glancing out the window which Mori had noticed.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Keiichi's not home yet, he never stays out this late" Kairi said softly her gaze downcast.

"Rest now" Mori said not knowing what to say about her grandfather. He didn't want to say 'I'm sure he'll be home soon' only to have her waiting for that soon to come when it may not.

"There's an extra futon in the hall closet, I'll go get it" Kairi said slipping out of the covers quickly and to the door before Mori could make a move. He followed her into the hall half expecting to see her at the door putting on her shoes to search for her grandfather but she was there at the hall closet fumbling with the futon just like she had said. Mori walked over and took it from her leading the way back to the room. Kairi glanced over her shoulder contemplating making a run for the door but realized it would be useless as she had no idea where to start looking. Mori put the futon down and Kairi fluffed it out and fixed sheets and pillows on it before slipping back into her own with Honey.

"Goodnight Mori-sempai, thank you for everything" Kairi said softly.

"Goodnight Kairi" Mori said. Kairi smiled a genuine smile at hearing her own name as opposed to Mitsuki.

The morning sunlight streamed through the window along with the sound of a car door closing and several pairs of feet emerging.

"Kairi honey daddy's here-" Tamaki got instantly silenced by Haruhi as they walked into the house cautious of bumping into her grandfather. Walking into her room they all looked down to see Mori laying down on a futon beside Kairi, with Kairi sleeping in her own snuggled up to Honey, or more like he was snuggled up to her.

"Ate rice and tea, still asleep" Mori said simply as he stood up ushering the group out of the room.

"I take it her grandfather never came home last night?" Haruhi asked to which Mori simply nodded.

"I also take it then that she doesn't know right?" Haruhi asked getting the same response.

"Morning everyone" Kairi said stretching as she walked in on the group.

"Morning Kairi, daddy was so worried about you. Was everything alright?" Tamaki asked running over to hug her only to have her side step out of the way.

"I'm going to make breakfast, any requests?" Kairi asked seemingly in a good mood.

"You should be resting, I'll make breakfast" Haruhi said standing. Kairi turned to Haruhi and smiled sweetly as she did during hosting hours at her.

"Kyoya said I had to regulate my eating, he didn't say anything about me having to sit around doing nothing. If you'd like to help me you're welcome to but if you're going to try and stop me I suggest you watch before you get hurt" Kairi said dangerously, her sweet voice laced with agitation and restlessness. Haruhi nodded and followed after the girl.

"Would they like the traditional Japanese style meal or a more American breakfast?" Kairi asked as she looked at the ingredients she had in the fridge.

"I really don't know, but they should be happy with anything they get even if they do complain a bit" Haruhi replied.

"Alright then, fruit crepes it is" Kairi said pulling out fresh fruits and placing them on the counter along with milk, eggs, flour and several other ingredients.

"Can you slice those fruits thinly please?" Kairi asked as she threw together ingredients in a bowl and whisked them until the batter was a rich creamy color. While Haruhi was cutting the fruit and whisking the cream as she had been instructed Kairi was cooking the thin pancake like pastries. After the crepes were finished cooking the two girls began assembling them with the fruit and cream.

"Finally we add some cinnamon and were done" Kairi said smiling. Haruhi and Kairi carried everything over into the dinning room and laid it out neatly on the table.

"Haruhi, you have some cream on your cheek" Hikaru said licking it off.

"I could have done it myself" Haruhi stated.

"Stay away from my daughter you fiend!" Tamaki yelled pulling Haruhi away and swatting at Hikaru.

"Kairi you have some flour on your nose" Kaoru said smirking as he gently brushed it off with the back of his hand.

"Thanks but I could have taken care of it myself, plus I hear flour is good for the skin...or was it eggs, no eggs are good for hair not skin" Kairi said as she began pondering over the information she had received at random intervals throughout her life.

"Stay away!" Tamaki yelled running over and pulling Kairi away from Kaoru while swatting at him.

"If you'd please let me go I'm going to make tea now...or is anyone up for hot cocoa?" Kairi asked the idea hitting her. 'There's snow outside and hot cocoa seems like it'd warm everyone up' Kairi thought.

"Sure, we'll help" The twins said grabbing Kairi and walking with her to the kitchen away from Tamaki who had forgotten about the twins and was admiring the fruit crepes.

"What are you doing?" Hikaru asked when Kairi pulled out a three containers, one with cinnamon, one with nutmeg and the last with what appeared to be leaves.

"Making hot cocoa" she said smiling as she poured milk into a pan and heated it over the stove. "Three kinds actually." In the pan she put in a teaspoon of cinnamon and stirred gently until it had all dissolved into the milk.

"Hikaru can you get three of the tall mugs from the bottom cupboard on your left. Kaoru can you pass me the cocoa powder, it's in the cabinet over the teapot" Kairi said as she continued to stir the simmering milk. Both did as they were told. Kairi put in two tablespoons of cocoa into the milk and stirred it in until it was fully dissolved then took a spoonful and blew on it to cool it off. She tasted it and looked at Hikaru.

"First one's done" she said. On that cue Hikaru brought over the brownish colored so-called giant mug and Kairi poured the contents into it. She repeated the process with the nutmeg but as she was tearing the leaves and putting them into the milk Hikaru and Kaoru looked at her oddly.

"Why're you putting leaves in it?" They asked.

"They're mint leaves, come smell" Kairi said as she took a mint leaf from the container and ripped it then rubbed it in the palm of her hand to release the scents. The twins looked at each other then leaned in and smelled the leaf.

"It smells strong" Hikaru said. Kairi laughed at his reaction and once the milk smelled like the leaves she removed the leaves and stirred in the cocoa powder. Once all three drinks were finished she placed them on a serving tray along with eight cups, a container of home made whipped cream and a spoon.

"This looks great Kairi, Haruhi. To think that my daughters are such great cooks" Tamaki said his eyes tearing up.

"Tastes yummy Ka-chan" Honey said. He had awoken while she was cooking in the kitchen and was happy to see the desert-like breakfast on the table.

"Kairi, why aren't you eating?" Mori asked.

"I don't like sweet things, but they're the most fun to make" Kairi said.

"You have to eat something Kairi" Haruhi stated seriously, to which she smiled and left coming back with an apple causing the hosts to sweat drop.

"Well at least it's something" Haruhi muttered.

"Why are there three mugs of hot cocoa?" Tamaki asked.

"They're all different" Kairi stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Hikaru and Kaoru have to try the mint one first though" Kairi stated pouring two cups of the hot brown liquid and topping them with a dollop of whipped cream.

"Why?" they chorused.

"Because of the look you had on your face when I was making it" Kairi said sternly to which they both took up a cup and looked at each other before simultaneously sipping the liquid only to find that it was rather delicious.

"How can you cook so well Kairi?" Tamaki asked.

"I have to make sure my grandfather eats and he's so childish sometimes, he likes everything fancy, so I came up with cheap but effective ways of preparing his meals. The presentation is the most important part though. If it looks edible, he'll try it. As for the hot cocoa my mother used to make it in different ways all the time, said her father loved hot cocoa during winter and that he would always make it for her with hazelnuts or almonds, so she began experimenting with flavors that compliment each other. When I first made it for Keiichi, he was so happy and couldn't stop smiling and hugging me all day, which though nice was kind of annoying" Kairi said getting several smiles from her uninvited yet somehow welcome guests.

"I'm sorry your grandfather isn't back yet but he's probably fine" Haruhi said in hopes of comforting her worried friend who had over the course of the day ended up stuck in her room with host club guards at every exit preventing her from heading out to find her grandfather.

"If you go out and he comes home and starts to worry then he might go crazy" Haruhi said trying to reason with her pouting friend.

"It's alright Haruhi I understand you want me to stay here incase I faint away again but I assure you I'm fine. My fever is gone and I can walk without Mori-sempai supporting me" Kairi said trying to reason from her perspective.

"You can't go" Kyoya said walking into the room with Hikaru and Kaoru.

"I sent the other's home" Kyoya said in response to the questioning look in her eyes.

"Haruhi you should go home to, there's supposed to be a bit of a snow storm tonight so you should get home early; I'm leaving now as well so I'll drop you off at home" Kyoya said bidding the remaining three goodbye as he headed out with Haruhi.

"Snow storm huh, can I go look for my grandpa now? What if he's out there right now and-" Kairi started.

"No" they chorused. Sighing Kai flopped back on her futon as she realized there was no way she was winning with any of the members of the host club. She shot up straight as soon as she felt arms snake over her from either side.

"Kairi why'd you move we thought it was time for bed" they said mischievously.

"Oh yeah, hang on" Kairi exclaimed running out of the room into the hall and bringing back in the futon that Mori had used the previous night. She laid it down right next to hers and began fixing it up. After she was done she left them alone in the room again and returned with a large quilt that obstructed her vision and caused her to crash into the twins knocking them over along with herself in a pile of people and blanket.

"Sorry" she groaned as she fixed the large quilt over the bed she had made with the futons.

"You can sleep here tonight and I'll-" she said as she began walking to the door only to be dragged back in and pushed under the covers.

"Sleep with us Kairi, you did with Honey and Mori-sempai last night" they whined. She blinked and sighed not wanting to argue more and figuring that she could sneak out while they were asleep.

"If you'd feel more at ease we can call you Kai-kun" Kaoru said lying down on her left side and snuggling up to her.

"Or if we acted like Honey ne Ka-chan" Hikaru said lying down and snuggling up to her on the right side.

"So let me get this straight, it's either I'm a guy getting snuggled up to by two possibly homosexual guys or I'm a girl being snuggled up to by two impersonators?" Kairi asked dully.

"Or we could always just call you by your real name right Kairi" Hikaru said as another option.

"Whatever, call me whatever you want just don't snuggle up so close" Kairi said reaching behind her and grabbing a random object which she threw at the light switch to turn it off.

"Now sleep" Kairi said closing her eyes. The twins smirked to themselves and cuddled up in the thick quilt blanket and closing their eyes.

Dream

"Daddy come back don't leave me" Kairi called to which Keiichi turned around and looked at her smiling sweetly. He patted her head and crouched down to her level as she could have been no more than nine years old.

"Now Mitsuki I'll be back later" Keiichi said standing to walk away.

"I'll miss you daddy, come back safe" Kairi said to which Keiichi nodded as he kept walking. Kairi then sat and waited for hours for his return only to be alone for what seemed like days. She got up and went out in search of Keiichi, finding him at her mother's grave.

"You bloody liar! You're not my Mitsuki" Keiichi said angrily before a sweet smile crossed his face.

"You don't have to pretend anymore. I know you're not my daughter so whoever you are I have no need of you anymore." Keiichi said.

"But grandpa it's me" Kairi said.

"Don't start that now, you know as well as I do that my granddaughter is dead too. And anyway you already told you I have no need for you anymore" Keiichi said, his usually warm and inviting amber eyes, filled with a cold hatred.

"Just stop pretending like you have a place in this world and you'll be able to move on like me" Keiichi said.

"I'm going to join my Mitsuki now so go on" Keiichi said after having gotten no response from the little girl before him.

"Grandpa please don't leave me I don't want to be alone, I want to have a purpose. What good am I if I don't have a purpose?" Kairi asked sadly as tears began to spill over from her grey-white eyes.

"Exactly, you're no good. Whoever you are you are useless and therefore should move on; becoming too attached to this world only brings grief. If a useless person like you hadn't been around struggling to hang on to a thread of life, my daughter might still be alive" Keiichi said, his expression growing dark.

"Grandpa" Kairi said softly edging back a step.

"I said to stop calling me that you stupid person! You have no right to have deceived me into believing you were my Mitsuki. I knew the whole time but I just didn't want to think about her death but now I'm free, and I can be with her now" Keiichi said.

"I don't want to be alone" Kairi whimpered.

"Well you should have thought about that before you killed your parents shouldn't you" Keiichi said before vanishing before her eyes.

"You have no place in this world and only hell awaits for a sinner like you" Keiichi said, his voice lingering after he'd vanished. Rubbing at the tears in her eyes Kairi looked passed where her grandfather had stood to see his body lying limply over her mother's grave.

Dream End

Kairi woke up her face stained with tears and one very concerned face looking down at her.

"You're awake, that's good. You looked really sad and yet you wouldn't wake up" Kaoru whispered brushing strands of her hair from her damp face. He pulled her close to him and encircled her in his arms.

"If you're surrounded by people who care for you, there's no way you can have nightmares" Kaoru said as-a-matter-of-factly. Surprisingly, instead of pulling away from him, Kairi just welcomed the embrace as Keiichi's voice echoed in her thoughts. Shortly after she fell asleep again but dreamt nothing, as Kaoru had said.

The next morning came fast and as the three attempted to crawl out of bed the cold temperature in the room caused them all to curl back up in the warmth of the blankets.

"I'll go turn on the heater and make tea" Kairi said after a while of staring at the ceiling between the two twins.

"You'll catch a draft if you go out into that air hot from bed" Hikaru warned after remember such an unheeded warning as he was a child. Both he and Kaoru came down with the cold shortly after.

"I'll be fine, plus someone's got to do it" Kairi said sliding out of the blankets and shivering as her feet touched the icy floor. She went over to a corner of the room and turned on the heater before running to the kitchen and fixing a hot pot of tea. Once it was finished she brought it back with her to the twins along with three cups.

"Kairi I'm just curious you know we're all taking turns her to watch you and care for you as you recover but you don't seem ill to me at all" Hikaru stated.

"That's because you all are overreacting. Though I have a weak disposition I'm stronger than people think. I'm resilient enough to not let it bother me; I have to be like that when taking care of Keiichi. I adapt fast that's why even though I passed out and was running a high fever the night before, I was able to get up and cook breakfast and deal with everyone for the whole day" Kairi stated.

"Wow, that's" Hikaru said.

"Really amazing" Kaoru finished.

"You know that's really-" Kairi started to say.

"Annoying?" they asked.

"No actually it's kind of amusing, cute even" Kairi said smiling. Both twins seemed shocked at her response as everyone either found it annoying or didn't care.

"Drink your tea before it get's cold" Kairi said while sipping hers.

"Wonder when everyone will get here" Hikaru mumbled.

"They'll probably get here late today because of the snow, but regardless I won't let anything happen to you guys" Kairi stated as she flopped backwards, shivering as her body made contact with the icy floor.

"You'll catch a cold, get back in here" Kaoru demanded. Kairi pouted and turned away from the two only to be grabbed and dragged back under the covers.

"So warm" Kairi mumbled as she pulled the covers over her head. 'Weird girl, maybe she really did get sick' Hikaru thought as he observed her.

"Kairi, why'd you do things to please everyone all the time?" Kaoru asked. Kairi popped her head out from under the blankets and smiled.

"You should already know the answer to that I've said it before" she said nonchalantly.

"Seriously though, you can't seriously be happy acting like someone else all the time" Kaoru said.

"If it makes someone else happy then yes" Kairi said.

"But that's not normal. People aren't that selfless to give without expecting anything ever in return" Hikaru stated.

"That's true but just because I don't ask, doesn't mean I don't receive" Kairi said.

"You lost me" Hikaru said.

"You think I'm a pleasant person, correct?" Kairi asked to which he nodded.

"Well I didn't ask for you to befriend me, yet here you are. Here we are" Kairi said her voice slightly distant as though she was thinking about everything that's happened over the past three and a half months. The twins remained silent but seemed slightly sad for some reason.

"Well anyways I'm going to go look for my grandpa now, he's probably hiding in some arcade playing games and not eating properly. He needs me so please don't try and stop me" Kairi said knowing that her telling them not to try and stop her was just a waste of her time but saying it just the same.

"You can't do that" Kaoru said latching on to her waist as she attempted to leave the confinements of the futon. Just a moment later, Hikaru's cell phone rang. He grabbing it and flipped it open to hear Kyoya's voice on the other end.

"I had sent out a team to find Kairi's grandfather yesterday morning and they found him-" Kyoya paused.

"That's great Kairi will-" Hikaru started only to be cut off, but had drawn Kairi's attention.

"He's dead Hikaru, he froze to death" Kyoya said causing Hikaru's eyes to grow wide.

"Oh should I tell her?" Hikaru asked.

"If you think you can keep her from leaving the house" Kyoya replied.

"Ok, later Kyoya" Hikaru said hanging up the phone.

"What's going on what should you tell me?" Kairi asked suspiciously.

"Well you see it's a surprise so I can't tell you" Hikaru said deciding against telling her about her grandfather.

"Fine, but I'll find out eventually you know" Kairi stated simply as she glanced back at Kaoru who had yet to release her.

"What did Kyoya say?" Kaoru asked causing a thoughtful expression to cross his face. Kairi had gone to make something for breakfast and the two boys had been told not to come help.

"They found her grandfather dead" Hikaru stated causing Kaoru to gasp.

"She'll be devastated" Kaoru said looking down sadly.

"We can't do anything about it though, it's not like we can bring him back to life. Anyway Kyoya said not to tell her unless we can keep her from running out of the house in a panic" Hikaru said softly. They heard a crash and clattering just outside the door and jumped up and slid open the door to see two plates with pancakes adorned with fruits lying scattered on the ground.

"You think she heard us?" Kaoru asked.

"No doubt about it" Hikaru said as they grabbed their coats and awkwardly pulled on their shoes, running out of the house after her. Hikaru pulled out his phone and called Kyoya telling him what happened. To say the least he wasn't happy with the news and then Tamaki came on the line yelling at ranting.

"I knew we shouldn't have left her with you, my poor daughter is out there alone" Tamaki whined dramatically only for Hikaru to hang up the phone on him.

"How could she know where her grandfather is we don't even know that" Kaoru said as they followed the footprints in the freshly fallen snow, and they were actual 'foot' prints as though she'd left the house without even putting on her shoes.

'Grandpa! You can't leave me!' Kairi thought tears flowing from her eyes as she ran, ignoring the stinging sensation of the biting winter snow on her bare skin. She ran right to her mother's grave to see paramedics, Kyoya and Tamaki. Pushing past them she ran right to her grandfather's side. Skidding in the snow she landed awkwardly clinging to the frozen body of Keiichi Rikyou.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!" she cried into the old man's shoulder as she clung to him desperately.

"Miss you can't be here right now" the paramedic said gently resting a hand on her shoulder only for it to be knocked away in grief.

"Kairi!" Tamaki exclaimed running to her side and trying to get the girl to let go of Keiichi.

"Kairi please let go of him, he wouldn't want you to be out here like this you'll freeze" Tamaki said as he took off his coat to wrap around the girl's shoulders.

"Grandpa don't leave me, please don't leave me too, I don't want to be alone" Kairi chocked out unwilling to let go of him. Tamaki's heart ached for the girl gently trying to pry her off the frozen body.

"I thought I told you not to tell her unless you could prevent this from happening" Kyoya said his aura crackling in anger as the twins finally reached the site.

"She overheard us, I didn't tell her intentionally" Hikaru grumbled as he looked at the scene before them. The paramedics were just standing there unsure of what to do, Tamaki had draped his coat over her shoulder's and was trying to pull her off of her grandfather and Kairi was just crying, clutching the man's body as though her heat would somehow warm him back to life should she hold on long enough.

"You're not alone Kairi, you have us. We all care for you and...please stop this, you're going to get sick" Tamaki pleaded with the girl only to have her shrug off the coat in her attempts to get him to let go of her.

"Move son, she has to leave now" one of the men said ripping Kairi from her grandfather. She began flailing and thrashing wildly in his arms only for his grip to tighten. Wincing her tears increased.

"Stop it you're hurting her!" Kaoru yelled running over to them.

"We're going to need a sedative here, else this one'll have a breakdown" the paramedic said causing Tamaki's eyes to widen.

"There's no need for that I'll take care of her" Tamaki said pulling the girl into his arms and hugging her tightly. He began whispering soothing words into her ear trying to get her to calm down. After almost ten minutes of struggling she just stood in Tamaki's arms crying then she looked up through her tears at him. Her grey-white eyes bloodshot and puffy.

"Is he really not coming back?" she asked her voice chocked by sobs. Tamaki looked at her, the angelic girl he'd seen smiling at anything even when she was sick had broken, her face was streaked with tears and she was flushed from the cold. Her bangs stuck to her face in wet clumps and her mouth was quivering with every word.

"I'm sorry Kairi" was all Tamaki could say to her as he held her close.

"Tono, she's not wearing any shoes" Kaoru said as he watched the girl have a complete emotional breakdown. She had lost her parents in a fire at the age of nine and then eight years later she had lost her last remaining relative. What's worse, he never thought of her as Kairi but as his daughter so all the time she spent with him; those eight short years were nothing but a lie. He couldn't even imagine how that felt.

Kairi had submitted into leaving with Tamaki and the twins and had been taking to the hospital for a check up and then home where they met up with Haruhi, Honey and Mori. Haruhi had taken her now somber friend, running her a warm bath before going to Tamaki and the twins to find out what had happened. The days passed and soon bled into weeks and Kairi's condition only worsened as she refused to eat anything and she would barely speak. She had fallen into what the doctors said to be a depression. She had to be put in the hospital due to her refusal to eat, and was hooked up to an IV. Christmas break was less than a week away and Kairi was showing no signs of improvement. The hosts seemed to be in their own depression as they couldn't do anything more to help their friend.

* * *

A/N: Hello again to everyone reading this story. This chapter seems a little rushed almost, maybe I should have spent more time writing her recovery and let the hosts get a chance to meet Keiichi when he was the kind old man that Kairi assured them he was. Then after she got better kill him off so that it would have been a greater relapse than it turned out to be. Maybe after I'm done writing the story i'll rewrite this chapter like that. Anyway thanks to all my readers. See you in chapter 5. 


	6. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

"Kyoya, did the doctors say anything is she any better?" Haruhi asked for what must have been the tenth time since the host club had started up that evening.

"Yeah, it's almost Christmas break" Hikaru said.

"It'll be her first Christmas without her grandfather" Kaoru added.

"My poor daughter we can't possibly leave her alone in a hospital of all places" Tamaki stated, for once being agreed with by the other members of the host club.

"I can understand your worry but her condition wouldn't have changed in the past three minutes since you've already asked me" Kyoya said getting annoyed with the group of teens who were lapsing in their duties as hosts.

"Pardon me; has Kai-kun's condition gotten any better?" Momoka asked with hopeful eyes as a couple other girls had come over to hear the news as well.

"Regrettably no, but I'm sure that after the winter break he should be back" Kyoya said. They had told everyone the truth more or less, that Kai's grandfather had passed away and that he had fallen into a depression because of it. Needless to say all of Kai's customers were gravely worried and had tried to acquire his location. However Kyoya had gone through great lengths to insure Kairi's privacy, as should the girls go to see him and find out that he's a girl then there'd either be a drastic drop in customers or possibly a rise, but Kyoya wasn't willing to take the chance that he'd loose any customers.

"Ne Takashi, can we go visit Ka-chan after club activities?" Honey asked to which Mori simply nodded. Haruhi looked at them, having planned to go see her after club activities as well. Haruhi probably visited Kairi the most out of all the host club members.

"You know Kaoru, if Kai-kun isn't getting any better in the hospital a change of scenery might change that" Hikaru said, evidently planning something.

"Now that you mention it I think Kai-kun could use a vacation from that stuffy old hospital and all the people there" Kaoru said.

"I propose we go away for the Christmas break and take Kai" Hikaru said.

"Somewhere nice and relaxing" Kaoru finished.

"That actually sounds like a good idea, but where are we going to go?" Tamaki asked walking over to the two.

"Back to work. All of you. Now" Kyoya said sternly. Without a second word everyone went back to their hosting and didn't falter from their post for the rest of the day.

'He's gone, grandpa's gone to meet mommy and daddy and I'm stuck here, which doesn't even make sense because I'm dead. I know I am; I saw my own tomb stone. It was between my mommy and daddy's tombs. I'm there aren't I? But then that isn't possible because I'm here. But this isn't me. Who am I?' Kairi thought absently as she stared blankly out the window from her place on the hospital bed.

'I'm all alone now. There's no one who I can be of use to. Grandpa even said so in my dream. He told me I was useless and even if I die I wouldn't get to see mommy or daddy because I killed them. I have no place in this world and I accepted that, but even then I had Keiichi and was able to serve some sort of purpose with this damned body by being with him. He's gone now though so my pathetic existence is like that of the withering flower amongst those that bloom so beautifully. I shouldn't be alive, I'll end up starving them from their life and in the end I'll perish too. Must be clipped soon' Kairi thought.

Ever since Kai had allowed herself to be taken away by the hosts her thoughts had been running in circles, starting off with dredging up painful memories, then thinking about her grandfather and how she was alone, to thoughts of her useless existence and it's talent of taking other's lives, before returning to the painful memories and beginning the cycle again.

'In a cloudless night sky I see the moon shining brightly. Surrounded by stars her ethereal glow illuminates the earth. Stained by death and deceit the earth turns away its shameful face. I have no place in this, your hopeful light. No place in your cool embrace. Why do you still shine upon me with such tender warmth when clearly I have sinned? Do you take pity on those without a place, those of which belong forever condemned to hell? You couldn't, one of your beauty and stature shouldn't bow to those as lowly as me. The stars their anger to see such an act water the earth with torrents of grief and despair which only pushes me further from you. But as it was said, a dead man has no right to steal life of the living. Though misguided, the sinews of my heart twist and wretch with every drop of crystalline tears. Spears of hatred shoot from my core. Though you had smiled at me you turn to protect your children, the same stars who punish me. The hope you gave me ripped away once again as I see your wounds. Beautiful as you are you hide away your battered face. Your cool embrace, rugged as it fills me with agony. You hid away your true self only to convince me you were perfect and then you shattered my perception of you and now my hope is lost. Longing for your gentle embrace I wait eyes upturned to the midnight sky as you turn away from me. I now know too much to be granted your false kindness and as daylight spills over and you fade away my eyes close for another day in which suffering becomes naught more than a bitter memory amongst them all' Kairi thought as she hummed a soft melody along with it. The lonely earth is once again assaulted by the salty grief of the prestigious stars, only for the hypocritical moon to drop her pretenses and shatter the earth's perception of hope and a brighter future.

'Mommy you always loved the moon, how would you feel if she turned her back to you and all that was left for you to see were the tears of billions of stars. Would you feel lonely or would you feel pity for the moon as she hid herself away again and again?' Kairi asked silently as she rested her head back down on the pillows for an inevitably troubled sleep to overcome her fatigued body.

"We should go somewhere fun, ne Tama-chan" Honey said as they had begun going over places to visit for the Christmas break. As Haruhi didn't have a passport, they had to keep it within Japan.

"I think a relaxing place is a better bet" Hikaru stated.

"She probably would rather go somewhere slightly secluded so she doesn't have to worry about crashing into people while she's in a daze" Kaoru said running over what he knew about her in his head to confirm his evaluation.

"We should take her to one of our private beaches, I think she'd like it" Tamaki said 'and daddy gets to see her in a cute bathing suit' he thought getting the image of both Kairi and Haruhi playfully splashing each other in their bathing suits while laughing gleefully.

"Like that would ever happen" Hikaru stated bluntly popping the image cloud above Tamaki's head.

"Maybe an onsen, Kyoya your family owns one as a health retreat, right" Kaoru said.

"Yes that's true, however it is a very popular place and would contradict your previous thoughts" Kyoya said to which Kaoru nodded in understanding.

"Well are there any other onsens we could go to that are less populated?" Haruhi asked.

"Yes but they're not as good as Kyoya's" Tamaki said. 'Figures' Haruhi thought absently.

"Well where can we go then?" Haruhi asked.

"We should go to the winter festival in Sapporo" Mori said surprising everyone with his decision to speak.

"That's actually a good idea, there'll be lots of things to see and do and in certain areas its remote enough that she'd not have to be scared to go outside" Kyoya said contemplating the idea to which everyone decided in going with that.

"So where'll we be staying?" the twins asked, popping up on either side of Kyoya.

"Ne Takashi, we could stay at the family shrine" Honey said while climbing up the taller boys' body to rest on his shoulders.

"Ah" Mori said in agreement.

"Now that all that's settled, Kyoya would you please deal with Kairi's discharge papers" Tamaki asked smiling. Nodding Kyoya pulled out his cell phone and walked away to talk with the hospital about releasing Kairi from their care.

'They're letting me out?' Kairi wondered as a nurse brought in a set of clothing, a jacket, and shoes. Smiling the nurse turned to her and began disconnecting the various apparatuses that were on her body. 'Why would they be letting me go?' Kairi wondered dully as she got dressed in the clothes she'd been provided with. Upon dressing she observed herself in the mirror and was once again assaulted by the same question that's been on her mind, 'who am I?'

"Miss your friends will be in shortly to pick you up so just sit tight ok" the nurse said smiling as she made the bed. 'Your smile is sickening, such false pretenses just to satisfy your idea of perfection in this job' Kairi thought absently as she once again resumed looking at herself in the mirror. Her hair had grown longer and now hung past her waist, and her skin was a bit paler due to little sun exposure.

Not even a good five minutes later did Tamaki burst through the doors of her room with a huge grin on his face.

"Darling, daddy's going to take you to the Winter Festival!" Tamaki announced running over and embracing Kairi. Kairi just stood there, stiffening slightly yet not moving or saying a word.

"Kairi aren't you going to say something like, 'would you please get off me' or something?" Hikaru asked as he watched the odd display before him. Once again Kairi didn't respond, but merely looked on in a slightly dazed manner towards the speaker.

"Come on Kairi you're not acting like yourself" Kaoru said as Tamaki pulled back nodding in agreement.

"Who am I?" Kairi asked looking at Kaoru as though he'd have the answer to the question that haunts her constantly. The hosts looked at her in mild stupor as none of them were sure how to answer the question.

"You're Kairi Kagesaki" Kyoya said, finally breaking the silence the group had fallen into.

"Wrong answer, she's dead" Kairi said looking at Kyoya with hollow eyes.

"Perhaps the answer you were looking for was Kai Kagesaki" Hikaru offered.

"Is that who you want me to be?" Kairi asked. Hikaru looked to Kaoru, unsure of what to answer to the question posed at him.

"Kairi, just be you" Haruhi said resting a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know how to do that. Please just give me a purpose" Kairi said looking into Haruhi's eyes with such desperation that Tamaki broke down in tears.

"You're my daughter" Tamaki said causing the group to look at him in disbelief.

"Your daughter?" Kairi asked looking to Tamaki.

"Ye-" Tamaki was cut of by two hands over his mouth.

"Kairi you're not his daughter! You're Kairi Kagesaki and you're our friend. You're not dead, that grave is empty!" Kaoru said grabbing Kairi's shoulders and pulling her into an embrace.

"Kairi... is that who I am?" she asked.

"Yes Kairi, that's who you are" Kaoru said hugging her tighter.

"Mother, Kaoru's smothering Kairi" Tamaki whined.

"Kyoya are you sure they were healing her in here? It looks like she went brain dead or something" Hikaru asked watching his brother hug the girl that had become part of their family of hosts. Kyoya ignored the question posed at him and went to talk to the doctor who had been taking care of her.

"Ka-chan, we're going to the Winter Festival in Sapporo. You'll love it there. Our family shrine is really peaceful and doesn't get many tourists around this time of year, ne Takashi" Honey said smiling while bounding over to her from his cousins' shoulders.

"Winter Festival..." Kairi said trailing off as her mind wandered to something her grandfather had said to her a couple years ago.

-FLASHBACK-

"Mitsuki, isn't the snow beautiful?" Keiichi said gesturing out the door to the fluffy, white snowflakes that floated down from the heavens.

"It is daddy! Can we come here again next year?" Kairi said smiling and tossing a handful of snow into the air, dancing around as it cascaded around her. "And the year after that, and the year after that forever?"

"Ha ha ha, alright then Mitsuki, we'll make this an annual trip!" Keiichi announced as he placed his hands on his hips and letting out a series of chuckles.

"Come on let's go see those ice sculptures" Keiichi said grabbing Kairi around her waist and heaved her onto his shoulders as he jogged towards the displays. Kairi laughed joyously from atop her grandfather's shoulders pointing in awe at the many detailed sculptures that towered over the two.

-END FLASHBACK-

A small distant smile graced her features for what would be the first time in weeks and each host took note of it and began pondering about the reason behind it.

"Ka-chan likes the festival ne?" Honey asked smiling up at her expectantly.

"Mitsuki always loved the Winter Festival, Keiichi loved it too" Kairi said.

"That's good to hear! We'll make it the most fun you've ever had!" Tamaki exclaimed, the fires of determination burning in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I've caused you all so much trouble" Kairi said softly, a smile crossing her face for the first time since her grandfather's death causing everyone to look at her with blank looks.

"Mood instability anyone..." Hikaru muttered dully only to be elbowed lightly by his twin.

'I can be so selfish; my stupidity is just making them all sad. I should have continued to be Kai at school like normal -my painted smile never falters-' Kairi thought berating herself for wasting so much time wallowing in grief over her grandfather's death, it served no purpose, it was impractical and it didn't do anything to change that fact. Her smile was now fixed to her features, her normal charm returning.

"I've been unfair and stubborn, I'm Kai. That's my purpose for now and I've just been so selfish wasting time here and making you all worry. I'm fine now, and I'm going to go to school tomorrow, I'd like to reassure everyone that I'm alright before the break; I'd feel horrible if my selfishness caused those beautiful smiles I've seen to fade like forgotten wildflowers" Kairi said, falling back into her normal persona 'happy if others are happy'.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea" Kyoya said as he walked back into the room, "you should get as much rest as possible, traveling might be difficult on your body, in the state you are now and I don't want to take any chances that you're going to have a relapse."

"Kyoya you're too mean, my daughter doesn't like it hear!" Tamaki whined, his eyes tearing up.

Kyoya was about to respond with something, sure to make Tamaki fall into his corner of gloom but his thoughts were ended abruptly as Kairi stood up off the bed and walked over to Kyoya despite the protests of the host members.

"Kyoya I'm going to ask you a question and all I want is a yes or no answer..." Kairi said pausing to receive his nod of acknowledgement and signal for her to continue with her question.

"Am I allowed to leave here of my own accord?" Kairi asked carefully looking straight into Kyoya's eyes.

"No" Kyoya said simply, causing a smirk to cross Kairi's features as she stepped closer to him a dangerous aura radiating from her causing the tension in the room to thicken.

"Last question- do you think you can stop me?" Kairi asked her eyes gleaming in defiance causing a shiver to run down Kyoya's spine.

"Ka-chan is a bit scary, ne Takashi" Honey said looking over at the girl whose mood had changed drastically since they had reached the hospital.

"Ah" Mori said to his cousin as he too looked on at the unfolding scene.

"Yes" Kyoya said carefully, but as soon as the word fell from his lips Kairi chuckled lightly and then started to walk past him.

"I'd like to see you try" Kairi said her tone dully menacing as she walked out of the hospital room she'd been confined to for the past few weeks.

"Kyoya are you going to stop her?" Haruhi asked as she looked at her friend's retreating form down the hallway.

"Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai bring her back at all costs" Kyoya commanded his glasses glistening as he began writing on his clipboard.

Mori and Honey exchanged looks of mild dissatisfaction as they walked out after Kairi.

"She seems better thought Kyoya, is this necessary?" Kaoru asked feeling a pang of worry in his chest.

"Absolutely necessary- at least until tomorrow morning" Kyoya said causing Hikaru and Haruhi to sweat drop, his antics which were truly immature when he was showing his control over situations.

"So I can leave in time for school tomorrow" Kairi said poking her head back through the door with Mori and Honey standing behind her.

"Thank you, I'm so grateful" Kairi said smiling softly at Kyoya who seemed somewhat defeated.

"Honey-sempai, did you force her to come back?" Haruhi asked.

"No Ka-chan had already doubled back as soon as Kyoya took his attention of her and was waiting outside of the door, ne Takashi" Honey said looking to the stoic male for confirmation of said fact.

"Ah" he said causing the room to fall silent as the host members looked at the smiling Kairi before bursting out in laughter at her antics, save for Mori and Kyoya of course.

"If you don't get in bed and rest now, then I'll have to reconsider" Kyoya said stiffly. Kairi just nodded and smiled before climbing back into bed.

"Kai-kun" Momoka said looking at the smiling boy in front of her.

"Ah Momo-chan, good morning. You sure are a sight for sore eyes, how I've missed that beautiful smile of yours" Kai said a charming smile adorning his face as he greeted the stunned girl.

"You're back...I was so worried, I heard about your grandfather. Are you feeling well now? Of course not, your only living relative just passed away of course you aren't over it yet. Forgive m-" Momoka rambled as tears built up in her eyes threatening to overflow. Her words were cut short by Kai pulling her into a light embrace.

"Thank you for worrying about me, you really are too kind" Kai whispered softly into her ear holding her close until she had calmed down.

"Feel better?" Kai asked as he pulled back from her gently. She nodded, still with teary eyes.

"You're not that convincing with those tears threatening to spill over those delicate cheeks of yours...it'd be a shame for your face to be marred by such agony at my first day back; I had hoped for a smile" Kai said causing a sweet smile to cross her features.

"I'm glad you're back Kai-kun" Momoka said smiling.

"Glad to be back Momo-chan" Kai said as he released his hold on her.

"I should get going I'm sure everyone else is worried too, and I should put their souls at ease lest I be damned for all of eternity" Kai said laughing lightly as he waved to Momoka before heading towards his class. Momoka continued to look after his retreating form but was slightly startled when he paused in his step looking back over his shoulder with the same charming smile adorning his face.

"Come visit me later, at the host club" Kai called sweetly before turning and resuming his retreat. Momoka's eyes grew slightly wider as a blush painted itself across her cheeks.

As Kai entered the class the room went silent before there was a crowed of people surrounding him asking him how he was and welcoming him back. Tamaki and Kyoya observed the scene from their seats. Kai's family was much bigger than he knew.

* * *

A/N: Hello! To everyone still reading my story I want to thank you very much, and wish you a Merry Christmas. I will try to update again soon, as I'm on Winter Break and don't have to go to school. I still have a lot of homework so I don't know how much I can update but I'll try my best to get out another chapter for you. This chapter is a bit shorter than most of the others, and I'm not entirely pleased with how some of the sections turned out. I was hoping it's have been more interesting but I turned out to be more of a transition chapter, moving Kairi back into school and out of her depression. I feel like I should have spent more time writing about her in the hospital and the visits she had from the members of the host club but I wasn't sure if it would seem dull and pointless to the story. Anyway thanks for reading, I wish you all the best in the New Year. And if anyone has anything they want to happen during their trip to Sapporo tell me and I'll consider adding it. 


	7. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

"Merry Christmas Kai! See you after the break" Souta said smiling as he gathered his things to leave for the holidays.

"Merry Christmas Sou-kun!" Kai called playfully, laughing at the blush that painted itself across his face.

"Ka-chan don't tease me like that" Souta said smirking as it was Kai's turn to blush.

"But Sou-kun, we're friends aren't we?" Kai asked smiling the blush dissipating.

"Ah yes, very good friends, Ka-chan" Souta said laughing as he hugged his friend playfully pushing his hat down over his eyes.

"Oi! Souta" Kai grumbled as he pulled back moving the hat up so he could see.

"You take care of yourself okay" Souta said sternly, before a smile made its way to his face.

"'Kay" Kai said slightly flushed as he waved his friend off.

"Kai, since when have you been so close to that boy? And how could you let him touch you like that?" Tamaki whined after having observed the interaction between the two.

"Eh?" Kai asked in mild confusion at the whining male in front of him.

"Mother, Kai's being difficult" Tamaki whined looking to Kyoya whilst pointing at Kai. Kyoya was too busy recording the events of the interaction to be bothered with answering to Tamaki's whining.

"Tamaki, what are you going on about?" Kai asked. The class had already left after wishing each other 'Happy Holidays' and 'Merry Christmas' leaving only Tamaki, Kyoya and Kai.

"What is that boy to you?" Tamaki asked composing himself so that he appeared like an angry father.

"Eh? He's my friend, why?" Kai said simply studying Tamaki's expression carefully.

"What kind of friend?" Tamaki asked.

"A friend?" Kai said not knowing what Tamaki was trying to get at. "You do know I have friends who aren't in the Host Club right?" At this remark Tamaki's face became slightly pale before flushing red in embarrassment. Kai sighed and looked at Tamaki with a blank expression; shaking his head in slight annoyance and disappointment Kai turned and walked away from Tamaki, who had yet to move.

"Mother, Kai has a boyfriend!" Tamaki whined as he started to cry. "She's at the difficult age, we have to do something!" Kyoya sighed before gathering his things and heading up to the 3rd music room leaving Tamaki alone to his whining.

"Ka-chan!" Honey called smiling as he jumped off of Mori's shoulders tackling him to the ground only for his already unfixed hat to fly off his head revealing the long silky hair that lay beneath.

"Ne Ka-chan how was your day?" Honey asked smiling.

"It was fine Honey, thank you for asking" Kai replied sitting up and handing the shorter male over to Mori who thankfully took his cousin and began scolding him slightly for having jumped on Kai after having just been released from the hospital.

"Oi Kai!" The twins said in unison as they came up on either side of said boy.

"What is it?" Kai asked as he fixed his hat back into place.

"Tono is whining about you having a" Hikaru said.

"Boyfriend on the phone" Kaoru continued.

"Is that" Hikaru continued.

"True?" Kaoru finished.

The twins had also grabbed the attention of all the hosts, a blank look crossed Kai's face.

"What is he going on about now?" Kai muttered in annoyance. "No it's not true" Kai said simply.

"Lies!" Tamaki yelled bursting into the room. "What was with that affectionate moment just now? You two were so close and he was smothering you!"

"Eh? Souta?" Kai asked.

"See! First name basis with no suffixes!" Tamaki yelled in horror at what his mind told him was evidence.

"I suppose I shouldn't call you Tamaki anymore, it might mean I consider you my boyfriend" Kai said bitterly as he watched Tamaki's face falter.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, Mori, Haruhi, Kyoya, Honey. I suppose I should use suffixes to everyone as I'm being to frivolous with my lack of suffixes.

Forgive me if I gave anyone the wrong idea" Kai said tone evened out and pleasant yet with his normal underlying icy dismissal, which sent Tamaki to his corner of gloom.

All the hosts were embarrassed by the stupidity Tamaki had just portrayed and the twins had fun poking further into it. Causing Tamaki to fall further into his gloom.

A knock came at the door and the hosts exchanged looks of confusion.

"We're not open today right? The Ball is tomorrow night right?" Hikaru asked.

"Yes, that's right" Kyoya said skeptically.

"Ball? What ball?" Kai asked, as it was the first he's heard of it.

"The Host Club Christmas Party" the twins said in unison as though it was a spectacular event...which to many it was.

"I'll get it," Kai said walking over to answer the door while shaking his head in dismay. 'Dance party...all idiots I can't dance' Kai thought dully.

"Hello" Kai said smiling as he answered the door to see Momoka, and Ayame.

"Momo-chan, Aya-chan what a pleasant surprise, how are you both?" Kai asked sweetly. The girls both blushed and began fidgeting slightly.

"Um we're fine thank you" Ayame said her blush intensifying.

"That's good, it'd be a shame for two lovely ladies such as yourselves to be in ill health this winter" Kai said smiling, his sincerity had most of the hosts standing and watching in awe, Kai just seemed to resonate light.

"Um Kai-kun, we weren't sure if you'd be attending the dance party tomorrow as you've just been released from the hospital and it may have been advised that you not attend something so extravagant right away. So we just wanted to give you something-" Momoka paused and the two girls took out a small box from behind their back and handed to Kai who seemed really shocked.

"Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you. I don't have anything to give you in return" Kai said regretfully.

"No, no please don't be sad, it isn't much but they're just to thank you for everything you've done for us this year and condolences for your grandfather's passing" Ayame said quickly as the two girls seemed frantic not to make Kai sad.

"You two really are too kind to me" Kai said chuckling lightly as he leaned in hugging both girls and placing a hand on their heads affectionately.

"I will see you tomorrow at the Ball, I look forward to it. Thank you both so very much, you're presence always makes my days here just a little bit brighter. I truly am fortunate to have friends like you" Kai said sweetly. Both girls bowed quickly before rushing off, deep red blushes staining their cheeks.

Kai turned around to receive blank stares from the group.

"You say 'friends' and they didn't even start to cry about the fact that's all that you think of them as...very skillful in your wording" Kyoya said taking note of it on his clipboard.

"It's creepy how you're so sincere with everything you say" Hikaru said smirking.

"Is it now?" Kai asked smiling. "Oh that's right, can someone teach me how to dance? I don't know how" Kai said as the thought resurfaced.

"..." the room went silent and Tamaki tore himself from his corner of gloom and hugged Kai tightly, "that's so cute!" he exclaimed twirling around in circles. Upon stopping Kai seemed extremely dizzy and was having trouble keeping her vision straight.

"Please don't do that again Tamaki" Kai said plopping down on the floor and holding his head in an attempt to make the room stop spinning.

Kai was then pulled to his feet by the twins and he smile in thanks while dusting himself off before turning to the group again.

"So who's going to teach me?" Kai asked simply.

"We will!" the twins said in unison.

"No you most definitely will not! I'll not have my daughter learning from you two devils!" Tamaki said firmly only to see that they'd already begun and were showing Kai how to stand and hold his partner.

"Ka-chan you're not too tired ne? Kao-chan you'll stop if Ka-chan says so ne?" Honey asked watching as Kaoru pulled Kai up from the floor...again. Kai had taken quite easily to the waltz but was struggling to set the movements to the pace of the music. His ear was so musically inclined that he heard all the beats separately, the sound of the piano, the violin- separating himself from the music itself to take in and move to the collective beat was to say the least, difficult. As a result he'd found himself on the floor more times than he cared to count. Kai had been alternating partners between Hikaru and Kaoru for the past couple of hours, whilst Honey and Haruhi sat cheering from the side; Mori sat next to his cousin but wasn't cheering for Kai, opting to watch for any signs of fainting from over exertion. Kyoya simply sat nearby typing on his laptop, with his hand twitching towards his pocket where his cell phone was located every time Kai fell. No one notice his agitation but he was ready to call the ambulance at any sign of a relapse. Tamaki was sitting off in his corner of gloom, growing mushrooms while glancing over now and then before falling deeper into his gloom.

Ah yes, everything was normal again in the Host Club's happy little family.

"No Honey, I'm fine thanks I lasted almost a full two minutes that time" Kai said in mild amusement, a silly yet charming grin on his face.

Needless to say the somewhat uncharacteristic smile on the boy's face made all the hosts uneasy.

"You sure you're ok to try again?" Kaoru asked watching as Kai dusted himself off a bit.

"Yes, thank you for being so patient with me" Kai said smiling as Kaoru resumed position, filling in the female part. They continued practicing and despite the fact that Kai was getting better, his progress was limited due to his intuitive musical ear.

"Kai it's been hours, you've made a lot of progress but there's a limit to how much progress you can make in a situation like this. I suggest you take a break before you wind up in the hospital again. In the meantime we'll try to come up with an idea alright" Kyoya said to an exhausted and slightly flustered Kai who lay sprawled out on the floor with spirals for eyes.

"Mmhumm..." Kai muttered as Mori picked him up, gently laying him on one of the couches.

"Maybe we could give him ear plugs" Hikaru offered.

"That could work, he does fine without the music" Kaoru said.

"He has to hear the music otherwise he'll be out of time. We have to get him to set aside that musical ear of his and listen to the song as a whole without singling out the individual beats of each instrument in play" Kyoya stated.

"Hey look! Tono's going over to Kai" Hikaru exclaimed, following his elder with his eyes across the room.

"Yeah- he's finally out of that corner" Kaoru stated in mild amazement at the extensive length of time his elder had managed to pout in one sitting.

"Kai, when your parents were both still alive, did they ever play music together?" Tamaki asked.

"Dad used to play the guitar, and mom used to play the piano while she sang" Kai replied his expression slightly glazed at the memory.

"Can you remember how they sounded?" Tamaki asked.

"It was so beautiful...almost as though they were one entity. The two instruments meshed so fluidly that all you could hear was the one sound they created." Kai said his eyes shining with unshed tears and longing.

"Was it only their music that gave you that feeling?" Tamaki asked, heaving a sigh as Kai nodded solemnly.

"Can you play a song for me? One that they used to play together. Show me the piano, you play the guitar and we'll try to recreate that." Tamaki said 'maybe then she'll be able to see that kind of harmony in music other than the memories of a her parents...though its understandable that she romanticizes the few memories of her parents making them sacred and untouchable for her own purposes' Tamaki thought eyes studying the girl before him carefully.

"It's ok Tamaki" Kai paused, a small smile on his slightly downcast face. "I understand what you're trying to get at but I can manage just fine...I can't open that up now if I want to keep my composure. You should allow me at least that after your overreaction earlier" Kai said looking up at Tamaki with a sincere smile on his face, and almost surprisingly no hint of icy dismissal yet a firm not leaving no room for argument.

"Kaoru would you try it again with me please, I think I'm inspired enough this time" Kai said looking to Kaoru who was flopped on the couch next to his twin. Mori watched carefully as Kai stood up, worried that he may not have rested enough only to relax a moment later when said boy stood seemingly without fault and made simple yet cautious strides to the younger Hitachiin. Kai offered a hand and pulled Kaoru off the couch to join him on the dance floor like a normal gentleman taking a lady to dance. He had an air of gentlemanly elegance and confidence about him a big difference to how he had been not a good ten minutes ago. It was as though Kai had become a completely different person...which wasn't at all surprising. He was determined to show Kairi that they could move on, despite everything they could put the past aside to shape the future...what little they had of it that is. Kai moved fluidly with few insignificant faults in his rhythm and Kaoru was captivated by the grace with which he was handled.

"How'd he improve so fast? Tono what'd you say?" Hikaru asked. Tamaki didn't respond, simply staring at the graceful display before him.

'Don't think just do. Don't think just do.' Kai thought desperately as he forced to suppress the music from his mind working purely on instinct.

"Hmm so tired- hi daddy, I'm sorry to not have visited you sooner but I was a little depressed. I miss you and it's kind of lonely in the house, but I've been better lately. I have some really great friends at school who've been really kind to me and helpful in my recovery- kami...what am I doing? He's gone and I still can't drop the facade in his presence. I'm so pathetic. I'm sorry grandpa, truly I'm very sorry, this is all my fault. I'll visit again soon I promise" Kairi said bowing her respects to her grandfather's grave before leaving to ready herself for the host clubs' Christmas dance party.

"Yes...Yes...Thank you, stay in position" Kyoya said before hanging up his phone. "She's at home now...she stopped by her grandfather's grave."

To this the expressions of the hosts fell grim.

"Is ka-chan alright? She's not going back into a depression ne Kyo-chan?" Honey asked from atop Mori's shoulders.

"She seems fine but I'm having her monitored should she relapse while we're not around" Kyoya said.

"Isn't that a bit much, she'd tell us if something was wrong right? I mean after all that has happened, why wouldn't she?" Haruhi said to which she was met with blank stares.

"I'm not so much concerned with Kairi but when she's Kai she won't feel like anything is wrong. The way she pulls on a different personality altogether makes her difficult to predict. It's not even as though its a simple multiple personalities disorder because its a conscious change...She's a perfect actor even though she's so sincere with everything and everyone" Kyoya said.

"My daughter is being monitored by some guy?! When she's out and sleeping and...OH KAMI!" Tamaki muttered to himself as his imagination ran wild. "I'll not have it!" he said firmly to Kyoya.

"You would rather she passed out on her way home and we have no way of finding her or determining whether or not she's alright?" Kyoya asked seriously, to which Tamaki's eyes teared up.

"Tono, we have to accept it until she" Hikaru said

"Learns to come to us or stay out of trouble" Kaoru said

"Especially when she's so reckless" the twins said in unison.

"Ah" Mori agreed.

"We can stay with her like we were doing before all this happened" Tamaki suggested

"Because that worked so well last time" Hikaru muttered

"It's you devils' fault that it didn't work out!" Tamaki argued.

"Either way, you can't monitor her everywhere if she knows we're going to be staying with her...she'll ditch us and we'll have no way of finding her" Kaoru stated.

"Quite right, having her under 24 hour surveillance is difficult enough with my secret police to do it with people when she's aware and familiar with will be virtually impossible" Kyoya said.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I had something I needed to do" Kai said entering the room and startling the group. "Hmmm...What's with those looks miss me?" Kai asked a casual smirk adorning his face as he took in the appearance of the hosts all wearing their fancy suits, Haruhi included.

"Ka-chan looks cute!" Honey said bounding over to said boy and jumping on him.

"Thank you but I hope this is suitable" Kai said smiling as he held the elder boy in his arms.

"You know Ka, I didn't think you would have a suit" Hikaru said.

"It belonged to my father" Kai said, a slightly empty look crossing his features.

"Where'd you get it?" Haruhi asked carefully studying Kai's expression should he turn tail and run or possibly fall into another depression at the question.

"I stopped by my house for it on the way here" Kai said simply. He received odd, weary looks from the group. Glancing down at himself, Kai evaluated his appearance for fear he was inappropriately dressed sue to the looks he'd been receiving. The simple black suit seemed to fit him quite well, being slightly larder than his school uniform, white shirt collar peering out from under it, the top two buttons open and a black tie hanging loosely from the collar. 'Maybe I should fix the collar' Kai thought making a note to do so before heading to the ballroom.

"Anyway" Hikaru started

"You look good" Kaoru finished.

"Thank you, you're too kind" Kai said smiling sweetly causing a blush to paint the faces of all the hosts, Kyoya and Mori included.

"When's this big party going to start anyway? Seems pretty empty here" Kai said looking around the room, where no one was save for the hosts.

"We're going over to the other building soon, the club room isn't big enough for the dancing" Tamaki answered simply while glancing out one of the large bay windows.

"The one with all the lights right?" Kai asked to which Tamaki nodded. "It looks pretty." Tamaki's eyes widened slightly as he took in Kai's gently smiling face.

"That's such a cute expression!" Tamaki squealed out, latching onto Kai and spinning around slowing to a stop "you like the lights, I'll get you a while set to decorate your house and-" Tamaki was cut off.

"Tamaki let go of her she's all but passed out!" Haruhi scolded pulling Kai's hand from Tamaki's grasp as he retreated to his corner of gloom.

Haruhi sighed as she steadied her friend. 'I have a bad feeling about this' she thought grimly.

"It's ok Haruhi I'm fine, but seriously Tamaki that's not necessary" Kai gave a dizzied grin to reassure the girl before he composed himself and headed to the doors.

"Shall we go now?" Kai asked turning to the group of hosts.

"We'll have lots of fun ne Ka-chan?" Honey said smiling whilst bounding over to the younger host.

"Yeah, lots of fun" Kai said a grin crossing his face as he ruffled the blonde's hair affectionately.

"Welcome all our valued guests; it is with great pleasure that I announce the beginning of our Christmas ball!" Tamaki announced extravagantly.

The hosts stood on either side of the stairs with Tamaki and Kyoya at the top, Mori and Honey on the step below them, Hikaru and Kaoru on the step below that and finally Haruhi and Kai on the step leading to the dance floor. The announcement was followed by applause from all the attendees. As soon as the hosts stepped onto the floor they were surrounded by a swarm of girls, each asking for a dance with their preferred host. Kai had managed to slip off to the side and was casually leaning against a pillar while chuckling to himself about the scene that was fizzling out before him.

"Kai-kun" Momoka said drawing said male's attention. There she stood brown locks bouncing lightly with her movements; a simple pale blue dress laced with white satin hugged her torso where it was bound by a white satin bow, to flow out around her in a fluid bell shape.

"Momo-chan you look positively adorable" Kai exclaimed as he took in her appearance.

"Oh..um...thank you" Momoka stuttered as a deep crimson blush painted her cheeks. Kai studied her downcast face for a moment before taking her hand gently in his causing her head to snap up, their eyes meeting briefly as her blush intensified.

"Would you care to dance?" Kai asked voice velvety smooth. Momoka unable to form a coherent thought at the moment simply nodded and allowed herself to be led away. As they danced the other hosts kept sparing glances at them every so often to check on Kai, beaming with pride in a way from his success. As Momoka became more comfortable she allowed her eyes to roam over Kai's body.

"Kai-kun you look really handsome" Momoka said causing said male to stumble a bit.

"Sorry" Kai said quickly blushing at his mistake.

"I'm sorry Kai-kun" Momoka said having felt as though it was her fault he had almost fallen, especially after having just been released from the hospital.

"No, I'm sorry...Thank you" Kai said smiling charmingly. Unbeknownst to Kai all the hosts caught their breath in his mis-step, their relief when no horrible event had transpired was evident in all their eyes...that and the collective sigh they let out.

The song came to an end and Kai bowed gracefully before leading Momoka off the dance floor.

"Thank you for a wonderful dance" Kai said as Momoka curtsied before leaving him to Ayame who had been waiting off to the side the whole time.

"Aya-chan such a pleasure to see you. And look how gorgeous you are" Kai said taking in the rich violet gown that framed her form.

"You look quite handsome Kai-kun, I can almost imagine the white wings that would accompany that angelic face that in this moment is only looking at me" Momoka said to which Kai blushed 'an angel huh...' his thoughts faded to the recesses of his mind as he brought his mind back to the attention of the girl before him.

"Would you dance with me?" Ayame asked confidently.

"That I think I'll do" Kai said smiling as he led her off.

The dance ended without fault and Kai smiled excusing himself before sneaking out the room, not without the notice of the host club members.

Kyoya gave them all a stern look that clearly said I'll-handle-this before excusing himself to search for Kai. His search didn't last long as Kai was found leaning up against the wall just outside of the ballroom. Kai was holding his head seemingly in pain and slid along the wall until he was sitting on the floor.

"Kai" Kyoya said as he cautiously approached. Kai's head snapped up, whipping in the direction of the voice, eyes wide in surprise.

"Kyoya! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there" Kai said appearing instantly better as he stood and brushed himself from invisible dust.

"Kai are you feeling ill?" Kyoya asked.

"No, I'm fine" Kai said smiling as he normally did when in the company of others.

"Come with me I want to talk to you" Kyoya said gently grasping Kai's wrist, leading him towards an empty class room. Upon entering the room

Kyoya locked the door and turned to Kai.

"I want to speak with Kairi, take off that hat" Kyoya said. Kai cocked an eyebrow and studied Kyoya's hardened expression.

"I'm fine really" Kai said. Kyoya said nothing just waited, sighing Kai pulled off the black flat-cap he was wearing and shook out the silky black locks from beneath it before facing Kyoya again.

"This is what you wanted, am I correct?" Kairi asked as she had been met with only Kyoya's calculating eyes.

"Your head is hurting?" Kyoya asked.

"No I'm perfectly all right just a bit tired" Kairi answered simply.

"Are you lying to me?" Kyoya asked.

"Of course not, why would I-" She stopped when Kyoya's hand slammed down against a table to his right.

"Don't tell me that all smiling and happy as thought there isn't a problem in the world. I'm sick of your pretending...you'll never begin to heal if you don't break that facade" Kyoya said stiffly.

"You're one to talk Ohtori-san" Kairi said her tone falling even and her eyes narrowing in on his, making note to call him by his last name as emphasis in how serious she was. "From the moment I met you I saw through that pleasant face and those perfect manners of yours. My first thought was 'faker' but I know that I'm in no position to criticize anyone for posing as something they're not. You however surprise me by having the audacity to call me out for it when you aren't better of than I am. I don't pretend to know what your reasons are and I'm sure if I prodded I'd get as far as I plan to let you get with me, which if implications aren't enough, ends here" Kairi said rolling her hair up and pulling the cap over it fixing it into place.

"And I realize that taking on a completely different persona may be the characteristics of an M.P.D. patient but I assure you that I'm fully aware of everything that goes on whether or not I call myself Kai or Kairi. So for future reference asking to speak with Kairi when I'm playing the role of Kai is just foolish on your part" Kai said as he walked towards the door.

"You don't get to slap on a poker-face and prattle on about my actions and just walk out like nothing happened. Kairi whether you like it or not I am better of than you are. I may not be completely honest however I'm not hiding myself away in as many personas as possible to block out memories of my painful past. I'm also not the one who was so desperate in being of use that being abused was a normal part of my daily routine" Kyoya said heatedly.

"I'm not hiding" Kai said whipping around to face Kyoya.

"Oh, you aren't? So I guess playing the part of your dead mother is a normal occurrence for people?" Kyoya asked getting slightly ruffled in his composure.

"I-" Kairi was cut off.

"Don't, just stop right there. If the next words to come out of your mouth are going to be 'I wasn't hiding or that's different' then I don't want to hear it. You know damn well that it's not normal and that you're doing all this to hide from your grief. You should deal with it and move on" Kyoya said.

"I did deal with my grief, for years that's all I did. It's not like a dead person has anything better to do right? That's what you're getting at isn't it? You think by me losing my parents and then being assumed dead I'd be somehow scarred for life? Well guess what, that is normal!" Kairi said her voice wavering slightly as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"I can only imagine how awkward it must be to visit your parents' graves and then see yours there too, but that isn't all you're running away from. That isn't the problem or the reason that you're hiding away like this-" Kyoya was cut short.

"Oh yes Ohtori-kun please tell me what's wrong with me. Tell me what I'm really grieving for. Tell me that I'm stupid for acting the way I do and tell me that it'll all get better if I just talk it out!" silence followed her outburst. "Is that it? Nothing else to say? Not even going to tell me why I'm so messed up?"

"Kairi" Kyoya said her name softly regaining his composure as she was at the edge of loosing hers. "Why do you feel that it's you fault?"

At this Kairi's eyes grew wide and a stricken look took over her features.

"Why do you feel it necessary to make up for something that wasn't under your control? Why do you hate yourself so much that you don't give a damn about yourself?" Kyoya continued after having not received a response from the now panicked girl. Kairi turned to the door once again and stalked forward only for Kyoya to grab her wrist and whip her around pinning her to the door.

"You're running again...Why?"

* * *

A/N: Ok so it's been forever since I last updated and I'm very sorry...I get the feeling that every time I update anything I have to apologize for a lengthy absence...then I feel the need to apologize for having to apologize all the time...Anyway here's chapter six I'm already working on chapter 7 and am hoping to get it out before exams start but we'll see how that turns out. I think some of the parts in this chapter are a bit confusing and its quite possible that they're inconsistent with the story. If anyone notices anything or has any suggestions feel free to let me know (I'd really appreciate it).


	8. Chapter 7

"Stop" Kairi said simply, eyes glazed with unshed tears "Just stop."

"Why? Are you ready to break? Is that why you're running again? You don't want to feel better because somehow that'll make you feel even worse?" Kyoya asked. Kairi said nothing her gaze simply fell downwards. "I don't know why Kairi, as much as i'm trying to understand I don't. I know it's not your fault and I know that you refuse to accept that, but I don't know why" Kyoya said his grip softening.

"I never asked you to" Kairi whispered eyes locking with his.

"You can go now" Kyoya said after a moment of silent contemplation. Kairi opened the door and was about to run out but paused looking back at Kyoya.

"You know, I really hate you" Kai said a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Kyoya remained silent just staring at the speaker.

"But even so I love you...I guess that's what a family's supposed to be like." Kai's eyes studied Kyoya's for a moment before turning to the open door again, "thanks for worrying but please don't do it again. Oh and by the way, I really am just a little bit tired is all" Kai said a grin forming on his face as he walked away leaving Kyoya to follow after him and return to the ballroom.

"What happened?" Tamaki asked Kyoya as he re-entered the ballroom.

"Nothing, Kai's just feeling a bit tired" Kyoya said in his normal tone.

"But you took so long getting back" Tamaki whined tugging at Kyoya's sleeve.

"I just kept him company while he rested a bit" Kyoya said stiffly as he brushed Tamaki off his arm. "Go on now, you're making all those ladies wait" Kyoya said to which Tamaki instantly went into host mode and began dancing again. Kyoya sighed whilst pushing up his glasses. Scanning the room he found Kai sitting on the ledge of one of the large bay windows, the boy Souta was approaching him which piqued Kyoya's interest slightly.

"Kai, you ok? You look a bit pale" Souta said leaning against the wall next to the window. Kai cocked his head to the side to glance at the boy beside him. Souta looked stylish yet elegant in his black and grey suit which Kai took note of and smiled.

"You look good Sou-kun" Kai said rolling his head back to its original position. Souta's face flushed slightly at the casual praise he'd received.

"In comparison to you I look like I'm in street clothes" Souta said chuckling lightly to himself.

"Hmm?" Kai asked cocking his head to the side again, eyes scanning over the other boy's face, taking note of the blush that was skimming the surface of his skin.

"Sou-kun, you're blushing" Kai said smirking at the flustered look that overtook his friend's face along with the deepening of the blush.

"I..I most certainly am not" Souta said stiffly to which Kai errupted in soft laughter. "Don't laugh at me Kai" Souta said eyebrows furrowed and eyes almost desperate.

"Sorry, sorry" Kai said a cheshire smile affixed to his face, "but you just looked so cute." At this Souta's face flushed fully, deep brown eyes locking with amber ones.

"Kai you know...I worry about you" Souta said his blush cooling from his face slightly and a somber tone setting itself across the two. "When I look into your eyes like this, there's this well of sorrow which makes me feel like I'm drowning." Kai's face lost its smile and his eyes widened slightly in shock before he rolled his head back around angling his eyes to the ceiling.

"You're seeing things Souta" Kai said simply, tone even. 'What's with everyone confronting me like this tonight' Kai mentally frowned at what he perceived to be misfortune.

"I realize pushing may cause you to retreat back behind whatever shields you've structured, so that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to let you know that you can talk to me if you want...I'll listen and though I may not be much help I'd like to try" Souta said tentatively resting his hand on Kai's shoulder.

"Thanks Souta, but really I'm fine" Kai said a charming smile adorning his features again, any sign of discontent erased as though it had never been. Souta studied Kai's expression and inwardly frowned but smiled nonetheless.

"You know Kai, I think Momoka and Ayame are smitten with you" Souta said changing the subject and grinning cheekily. Kai raised an eyebrow and smirked at his friend's respect for his privacy. Reaching his hand up Kai grabbed the hand that was on his shoulder and used it to pull its host into a seated position next to him. Souta fell next to Kai with a bit of a startled yelp causing Kai to chuckle, clasping his hand over his mouth and turning away to mask his amusement.

"Spontaneous much?" Souta asked joining Kai in laughter.

"Well Kai's" Hikaru said.

"Having fun" Kaoru said.

"That's Ka-chan's friend ne Takashi?" Honey asked his cousin.

"Ah" was his simple reply.

"My daughter's having secret meetings with that boy" Tamaki cried.

"You all are being ridiculous, quit glaring at the poor boy and get back to the party. You're all neglecting your guests" Haruhi scolded turning to Kyoya for back up only to see him staring in the same direction as the rest, clipboard in one hand, and pencil in the other, looking very tense.

"Kyoya?" Haruhi asked trying to draw the male's attention only for him to snap the pencil. Haruhi sighed at the immature antics of the host club's male members and walked away from them to entertain as best as she could on her own.

"So Kai what are you doing over the break?" Souta asked leaning back against the window.

"Hmm, Winter Festival in Sapporo" Kai said following suit, shivering at the feel of the cool glass through his shirt.

"Really? I hear it's quite a sight to see, have you been there before?" Souta asked to which Kai smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I used to go with my grandpa" Kai said to which Souta mentally slapped himself hoping Kai wouldn't become suddenly depressed at the memory. Noticing Souta's silence Kai knocked his head lightly.

"Don't worry" Kai said softly to which a frown crossed Souta's features. "In any case they're good memories ok" Kai said reassuring his friend that he hadn't done something bad by bringing up the subject.

"Sorry, guess I worry too much huh?" Souta said.

"Too much is relative" Kai said "but if it's any consolation I probably worry more than you do."

"Yeah, about what?" Souta asked.

"Tomorrow and yesterday" Kai laughed. "The two days that one needn't worry about."

"What do you mean by that?" Souta asked genuinely interested.

"There are two days in every week about which we should not worry. One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. The other day is tomorrow, with its possible adversities and blunders, until its sun rises we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn. That leaves only one day -- Today. Anyone can fight the battle of just one day. It is only when we add the burden of those two awful eternities -- Yesterday and tomorrow that contentment will escape us" Kai said words weighted with meaning, "my mother used to say that."

"Your mother was a very wise woman" Souta said smiling to which Kai simply nodded before closing his eyes for a moment.

"So Sou-kun, what are you doing over the break?" Kai asked.

"I'm working at my family's onsen in Hokkaido, Yunokawa Onsen, maybe you've heard of it. It's origins are said to date back to 1653 when a lord the Matsumae clan was healed of an incurable illness by bathing in its waters. I don't know about the legend but it's a nice place" Souta said. "If you have time, maybe you'd like to stop by? I mean...It's not that far from Sapporo so...well it's not too much out of the way and...It might be good for you" Souta said face flushing slightly.

"Sou-kun, you're rambling" Kai said in a sing-song voice. "It does sound nice though, and you'd be with me so that's a definite plus" Kai said grinning while scanning Souta's face, noting the deep crimson blush that lit his features.

"I don't know how much time I'll have but if I get the chance I'll be sure to stop by" Kai said smiling to which Souta nodded.

"Tono, she's making plans without us" Hikaru whispered

"With a guy she hasn't even introduced us to" Kaoru added.

"That boy is nothing but trouble, I'll not have him fraternizing with my daughter" Tamaki muttered as he glared daggers at Souta.

"If she insists on going then we shouldn't stop her" Kyoya said stiffly drawing the groups' attention.

"But Kyoya!" Tamaki whined.

"However we shall accompany her" Kyoya said a glint crossing his glasses and a devious, tightly drawn smile upon his face.

"Oh" Tamaki and the twin's chorused, nodding in agreement.

'I have to do something...this doesn't look like its going to go well at all' Haruhi thought dully as she walked past the plotting group.

"Well I'm beat, when's this party supposed to be over anyway?" Kai asked eyes fluttering closed.

"Should be over by midnight or somewhere close to that" Souta answered.

"Oh, so in about twenty minutes then?" Kai asked glancing at the clock tower through the window to which Souta nodded.

"Would you like me to accompany you home?" Souta asked. Kai tilted his head to the side to get a better look at Souta's face and cocked a brow. Souta coming to a realization of what he had just said flushed a scarlet color and began stuttering for words.

"I mean...if you're tired...and then you might pass out...or...I thought it'd be safer for you...what with having no driver and it being late and..." Kai pressed a long slender finger to Souta's lips to silence him a charming smile on his face. Leaning forward slightly Kai's lips brushed Souta's ear causing him to flush a glowing incarnadine at the hot breath on his neck.

"I'll be fine Sou-kun, but thanks for worrying about me" Kai whispered, voice as sultry as velvet. Souta shivered at the sensation that wracked his body before standing abruptly.

"Kai quit playing with me like that" Souta said trying desperately to cool the blush from his heated face to no avail.

"Hmmm, but Sou-kun you we're all serious and then panicky...you were so cute I couldn't help it" Kai pouted.

"I...I..." Souta stuttered unable to form a coherent thought let alone a sentence.

'He's so adorable when he's flustered, that tint is rather flattering as well' Kai thought scanning his friends' face.

"I'm Sorry Souta, I couldn't help it. Thank you for worrying about me but I'll be fine." Souta nodded, gaze falling to the ground.

"I'm going to get going, so can you tell Tamaki that I've gone home early for me please?" Souta nodded again.

"Thank you Sou-kun" Kai whispered against his ear seeing him flush again before smirking and walking towards the exit.

'Why am I blushing so much, he's just a friend and a little teasing is normal amongst guys' Souta thought leaning against the wall trying to sort out the mess his thoughts had become. 'I mean I like him...but not like that. We're both guys so that wouldn't be appropriate even if I did...Which I don't. Maybe it's just the season...yeah the winter season's so chilly that it's natural that one seeks heat...no...that doesn't make sense...AHHH!'Souta held his head while his eyes became the likeness of swirls as he failed to sort out his thoughts. Heaving a sigh he stood up and made his way over to the stairs where the 'free' hosts would be standing.

"Did you see all that?!?!" Tamaki yelled. "They were flirting! My daughter has been corrupted!"

"Tamaki we have to do the closing ceremonies now" Haruhi said to which Tamaki nodded going into host mode and signaled a cut to the music.

"Ummm...excuse me" Souta said drawing the Haruhi's attention while Tamaki was thanking everyone for joining them and bidding them a good and safe winter break.

"Kai said that he'd be retiring early, that he was tired. So he left already. He asked me to tell you that" Souta said.

"Thank you...Souta right?" Haruhi said having remembered the name that Kai had used when Tamaki had first confronted her.

"That's right" Souta said a bit startled. 'How does he know my name? Does Kai talk about me' Souta wondered feeling a bit happy.

'He likes her...poor guy thinks she's a guy...must be hard...oh well' Haruhi thought dully 'Maybe I'll tell Kai later if she doesn't already know.'

"Well I'm going to get going now, bye" Souta said before shuffling out of the room.

"Haruhi, I can't find Kai!" Tamaki whimpered tugging at said girls' sleeve.

"Kai went home already" Haruhi said to which a stricken look crossed Tamaki's face.

"Why didn't you stop her? You let her go home by herself?!" Tamaki yelled in dismay.

"I didn't _let_ her, she just left and her friend came and told me that she'd left" Haruhi said.

"She left with that boy?" Tamaki asked near hysterics.

"No Tamaki, if she'd left _with _him, he wouldn't have come _alone_ to tell me she already left" Haruhi stated being met with a pale and silent Tamaki, head downcast in embarrassment.

"Where are the twins?" Haruhi asked suddenly realizing the two sandy haired males were nowhere to be seen in the now empty room, occupied by none other than the remaining hosts.

"Kairi, why'd you leave without saying goodbye?" Hikaru asked

"Yeah we were worried about you all night and you didn't even say anything to us" Kaoru said both coming up on either side of said girl.

"Sorry I'm really tired and we're leaving early tomorrow" Kairi said

"If you'd waited we'd have taken you home" Hikaru said.

"You guys just go home, I'm not in the mood for your antics right now" Kairi said to which the twins exchanged questioning glances.

"Did that boy put you in a bad mood?" Kaoru asked.

"What boy?" Kairi asked fearful of them having somehow overheard her tiff with Kyoya.

"The guy you were talking with all night" Hikaru said almost bitterly.

"Souta? no it's not him" Kairi said.

"Who was it, the only other person you were alone with for a long time was..." Kaoru trailed off.

"Kyoya!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"What did he do to you?!" the twins asked in unison. Kairi's face paled for a split second before a smile attached itself to her features.

"It's nothing to worry yourselves about" Kairi said.

"You're lying to us" Kaoru said

"Please I don't have the energy to argue with you guys right now. I just want to go home and sleep" Kairi said voice soft and weary.

"We'll walk you home" the twins chorused after exchanging worried looks.

"Not necessary" Kairi said.

"We're coming anyway!" they cried linking arms with her and sweeping her off. They came to a dizzying halt in front of her house after having gotten lost - why the twins were leading? Nobody knows...

"Goodnight you two, I'll see you tomorrow" Kairi yawned as she stumbled into her house.

"Can we stay the night? Hikaru asked.

"I'd rather you didn't but I won't argue if you do" Kairi said stripping her jacket off and crawling into her room without setting up her futon. The twins stared at the suddenly sleeping ball of a person Kairi had become and shrugged, dragging out the futons and setting them up like they had seen Kairi do the last time they had slept over. Hikaru lifted the sleeping girl onto the futon before grinning and clambering in next to her, his brother following suit.

"Mmmph" Kairi moaned softly as she curled into the heat of their bodies, causing them to blush lightly.

"She's been acting oddly ever since" Hikaru said

"She came back after visiting her grandfather" Kaoru said as the two stared at her sleeping form.

"She's always hiding and running" Kaoru muttered.

"Remind you of us a little?" Hikaru asked smirking at the nostalgia that fogged his mind.

"She's not reclusive like we were, and she's friendly to everyone" Kaoru said "plus our circumstances are very different."

"Good morning Kairi...GHAAA!!!!!! Get off my daughter you fiends!" Tamaki yelled startling everyone into a disgruntled wake.

"Tamaki, too loud" Kairi groaned holding her head and burrowed deeper into the sheets and Kaoru's side, causing said male to blush profously. Hikaru smirked at his twin's expression and curled in closer.

"Kairi!!!" Tamaki yelled reaching down and tugging her out of the sheets and into his arms.

"Tono, you're overreacting" Hikaru stated.

"Tamaki, it's cold" Kairi said softly causing his face to pale.

"Nice going tono" Hikaru said dully sitting up and pulling kairi back into the warmth of the bed. Kairi's half lidded eyes flutterred closed as she snuggled into Hikaru's warmth.

"You devils have corrupted her" Tamaki cried.

"Morning Haruhi" Kairi mumbled taking note that her friend had just entered the room.

"Good morning, Tamaki quit harassing them, Kyoya said to hurry up" Haruhi said before dragging Tamaki from the room.

"Do we have to wake up now?" Kairi asked looking up at Hikaru, large amber eyes shining at him. The twins were silent taking in Kairi's adorable antics. Kaoru nodded and stood up grabbing his shirt and jacket etc. Kaoru sighed before getting up and getting ready.

"What took you so long?" Tamaki asked bitterly as the three entered the vehicle.

"Warm shower" Kairi said simply causing a stricken look to cross Tamaki's face. "Alone" she added dully at seeing his reaction, which quickly turned to a look of relief.

"Ne Ka-chan you're feeling alright now?" Honey asked climbing over the seat to sit in her lap.

"Yep I'm fine, all rested- Hikaru and Kaoru kept me really warm last night" Kairi said glancing at the two, taking note of their pink tinged cheeks.

"Ka-chan was cold?" Honey asked to which Kairi simply nodded. "Tama-chan could've raised the heat at the ball if you were cold, ne Tama-chan?"

"It's ok I was fine" Kairi said before Tamaki was able to say anything.

"Good job Hika-chan, Kao-chan" Honey said patting each boy on the head whilst smiling.

"So how are we getting to Sapporo?" Kairi asked.

"We're taking Kyo-chan's family plane" Honey said grinning.

"On the way back I have somewhere I want to go so you guys can just go home straight ok" Kairi said.

"We'll accompany you wherever it is" Kyoya said.

"Yes, my daughter needn't go anywhere alone!" Tamaki announced.

"I want to go alone" Kairi said bluntly.

"Mother, Kairi's being difficult! She's eloping with that male!" Tamaki cried.

"Elope?" Kairi asked "what is wrong with you Tamaki?"

"That boy, you're sneaking off to be with him when you know I don't approve!" Tamaki said. Kairi stared at Tamaki for a moment no expression evident.

"You're stupid" she said simply causing Tamaki to start crying and complaining to Kyoya. Hikaru and Kaoru laughed at her blunt statement, Haruhi simply shook her head and honey offered Tamaki his bun-bun.

"I am going to see Souta, he was kind enough to invite me and I love you all a lot...you've been so great to me, but I feel a bit crowded, especially with Kyoya's secret police following me everywhere I go" Kairi said catching Kyoya off guard. 'She knew?' Kyoya thought feeling a slight tug of embarrassment at having been caught.

"It was for your own good, we had to make sure you were safe" Tamaki said in a strict fatherly tone.

"Having a man stalk me...I can see how that's safe" Kairi said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Tamaki turned sheet white in realization.

"Kairi, no one will see you, you don't have to wear a hat now" Haruhi said drawing the conversation to what she assumed would be a better topic.

"Oh, I hadn't even noticed. I suppose I'm just used to it" Kairi said, yet made no move to remove the cap.

"Why don't you take it off? It can't be all that comfortable with all your hair stuffed up under there" Hikaru said while his twin nodded in agreement. Kairi was silent for a moment then she pulled off the hat, letting her hair tumble from beneath it's constraints.

"There, more comfortable and prettier at the same time" Kaoru said grinning.

"I think I'm going to cut it" Kairi said running a hand through the locks.

"Why?!" Tamaki yelled in a disapproving tone.

"Well Keiichi's dead so I won't get in trouble if I cut it and short hair is easier to manage. Plus I won't have to wear a hat all the time at school" Kairi said.

"No! I forbid you to cut your hair. My daughter will not ruin her beautiful hair" Tamaki said animatedly from the front seat.

"We're here" Kyoya said putting a halt on the conversation as everyone piled out of the vehicle and made their way over to the large jet. Both Kairi and Haruhi were staring up at the jet in something akin to awe whilst thinking 'damn rich people' while they were at it.

"Everyone get in your seats and buckle up, no exceptions" Kyoya said looking directly at Tamaki who was crouched in the aisle next to Haruhi with puppy dog eyes, silently begging to sit with her. "Now Tamaki!" Kyoya said sternly causing said boy to jump and scurry to his seat, a pout affixed to his face as though he'd been scolded for trying to sneak a cookie before dinner.

The plane ride went fairly smoothly with little incident save for Hikaru and Kaoru taunting Tamaki. The group took a limo straight to the Mori and Honey's family shrine. It was large and spacious and the snow that coated the temple made the scene picturesque. As Haruhi and Kairi took in the shrine's beauty the rest of the hosts were heading into the shrine.

"Ka-chan, Haru-chan, is something wrong?" Honey asked noticing the girls had stopped moving.

"It's just so" Kairi said

"Beautiful" Haruhi finished

Hikaru and Kaoru smirked at the two girls as they had finished each others thought, much like they did on a regular basis.

"Yes it is a beautiful sight to see, a gentle blanket of snow covering the delicate structures of the shrine and temple, simple yet elegant lights strung up in the barren, snow dusted trees and my two daughters doe-eyed in awe. Yes, truly beautiful!" Tamaki announced dramatically, making flamboyant gestured to each of the things he mentioned. Haruhi and Kairi sweat dropped, and sighed heading toward the shrine with everyone else; they each laid a hand on Tamaki's shoulders and patted in a consoling way.

"You killed it" Kairi said shaking her head as she walked ahead leaving Tamaki almost shell-shocked at the statement. He slowly turned to look at Haruhi only to see her nod to affirm Kairi's statement before following after the older girl. Tamaki's eyes filled with tears and he fled to a snowy corner and began cultivating snow mushrooms while his gloom cloud hung overhead.

"He just never learns" Hikaru said shaking his head as he and Kaoru nodded in agreement following the girls into the shrine to see Honey and Mori talking with a beautiful woman dressed in elegant shrine robes.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I'm still alive. Hope you like the chapter I'll start working on the next one asap.


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